A Complete 180
by Athle
Summary: When Shinichi is forced to crossdress for a mission, nothing eventful really happens. That is, until he ends up getting drunk and flirting with a certain thief and a Kansai detective. Ever since, the life of one Kudou Shinichi was never really the same.
1. The Plan

**Author's Notes: **My second finished fanfic ever. I wrote it on a notebook years ago and after rereading a few times, I realized what a cheesy and probably bad job it was that I did. So now I'm trying to rewrite it and hopefully make it beter. Too bad my notebook with the original story's on the other side of the world so I'll be rewriting this from memory.

I'm still not sure whether I'll be including crime scenes, heists, Black Organization stuff [except for this chapter], etc. into this story since I'm not really good at that. Also since my original story didn't have any of that. Other Black Organization stuff is coming into mind though. When I get more ideas for that possible plot, I might include it and make it a major part of the story.

As I said, my second finished fanfic ever but the very first I'm posting for others to read. I hope you enjoy it! And feel free to point out typos, grammar mistakes, etc. :D

Summary: When Shinichi is forced to crossdress for a mission, nothing eventful really happens. That is, until he ends up getting drunk and flirting with a certain thief and a Kansai detective. Ever since, the life of one Kudou Shinichi was never really the same.

Warnings: Crossdressing, _shounen_ _ai_, AU I think, and OOC-ness as well.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan in any way.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter One: The Plan<strong>

"No way," Shinichi said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Come on, Kudou. It's just for one night," Kaito said.

"That's right. An' after that, we won't speak of that night ever again," Heiji added, hopefully convincing his fellow detective.

The three teens were in Kaito's room. It had been a year since Kudou Shinichi 'returned' after they found an antidote to return him to his normal body. But even so, the Black Organization was still active and lurking around somewhere. The past year, the three teens had been working hard to find out more about the organization and hopefully bring it to its end. They would get leads from time to time about the organization's activities, but unfortunately, most of them turned out unsuccessful.

This was one instance wherein they received a lead. Apparently, about a week from now there was going to be a social party in Beika Hotel. High-class people, famous artists, politicians, and prominent people in their fields were going. The boys had no doubt that the organization would also make an appearance one way or another so they were planning to go as well. Unfortunately, they thought that it would be too suspicious if three teenage boys would come to said party so one of them was to disguise as a girl. Guess who they chose to wear said disguise.

"Still, NO. WAY. Besides, why does it have to be me? Why can't it be you, Kuroba? After all, you're good at disguises," Shinichi said, sending a sharp look at the thief.

"Because I'm good with women," Kaito replied nonchalantly and looked out the window near where he was standing, his mind wandering around.

"And you're saying I'm not?"

"Yes."

"Why so?"

At this, Kaito looked at Shinichi and said, "Are you seriously asking me that?"

"What's wrong with-"

"Mouri Ran," the thief interrupted.

Shinichi was confused and so he brought up the question that crossed his mind, "What about Ran?"

But before Kaito could answer, Heiji beat him to it, "'Cause she's the girl closest ta ya' an' look at where the two of you are." At this, Kaito nodded his head in assent; apparently it was the same thing he wanted to say.

"But.. But.." Shinichi blushed and was at a loss on what to say. True, after years of knowing her and having a crush on her, being turned into Conan and knowing about her feelings for him, living with her under the same roof, and now even after being returned to his normal body, he still hadn't made a move on her or even asked her out. He didn't know the reason himself actually. But then he thought that talking about her had nothing to do with their supposed mission. "I don't understand what she has to do with this whole thing."

"Oh, but in a way, she does, Kudou. What we mean is that if you're like that with her, who is just one girl, what more with other girls?" Kaito replied.

Shinichi thought about it for a moment and asked, "Is this why I'm the one who has to dress up as a girl?" His two companions just nodded their heads eagerly, hopefully finally convincing him. When he sighed and finally said defeatedly, "Alright, I'll do it," the other two exchanged mischievous glances which went unnoticed by the last person in the room.

"Alright," Heiji said, seeming a bit more enthusiastic about their plan now, stood up from the bed and put his hands together. "Now that that part's cleared up now, let's talk about the rest of the plan."

* * *

><p>With that the days passed with the three of them talking about what else to do for that night. Also, they decided that Shinichi was going to have to undergo 'training' if he didn't want to get found out. And so for the next few days, he was taught how to dress, walk, talk, and to his dismay, flirt, like a woman.<p>

* * *

><p>On the anticipated night, the three were once again assembled in Kaito's room. Kaito was already dressed in a black suit. They tried to tame his hair and make it more presentable but was unsuccessful. And so they just left it like the bird's nest that it was. Heiji was changing in the bathroom downstairs while Shinichi was changing in the bathroom on the second floor where Kaito's room was.<p>

The thief was sitting on his bed and waiting for his two friends when there came a knock on his door. Thinking it was one of the two, he said out loud for the person on the other side of the door to hear, "You could have just come in, you know."

The door slowly opened and when the person entered, Kaito's breath got caught in his throat as he saw who it was.

Sure they (or more specifically Kaito himself) taught Shinichi how he was supposed to look and act that night. The thief even gave him the dress, shoes, make up, and the *ahem* necessities in making his disguise look as real as possible, but they didn't really have a 'dress rehearsal' of some sorts. Besides, Shinichi argued that it was enough for the two to see him dressed as a girl for one night; he didn't want to add another day to his humiliation.

This was how the two not-crossdressing teens imagined Shinichi would look for the night, but it still surprised Kaito a great deal. Just imagining and seeing it for real were two different things after all. And so he couldn't help but gape at the now-girl before him.

Shinichi was wearing a simple black dress that ended mid-thigh. The straps were thick and studded and criss-crossed in front. He was a bit skinny and didn't really have any slight curves, but Kaito remedied that by having the dress a little loose around the waist and hip area. His legs were long and lean but not bulky even though he had been playing soccer. As for the chest, he wore a padded bra filled with silicon gels courtesy of Kaito once again. (The other two didn't bother asking him where he got them. They were too weirded out as it is.) He was wearing a black choker to hide his Adam's apple. On his feet were black heels that were an inch high. He was also wearing a dark brown wig similar to the color of his own hair and ended a little past his shoulders. The bangs were swept to one side with a couple of clips and the rest of the hair framed his face nicely. He was wearing only minimal make up but that made him even more pretty. And was that blush on his cheeks the make up or simply natural? All in all, Kaito thought that his friend made a worryingly attractive girl.

"Err," was the sound that interrupted the thief from his thoughts. He looked at Shinichi who was standing there looking quite nervous and fidgeting. "Is there something wrong with how I look?" came the practiced higher-pitched voice.

Kaito shook his head, thinking that doing so would clear his head of his currently weird thoughts. He stood from the bed and said in a manner that he hoped was assuring, "No, it's fine," and added in a teasing tone, "In fact, you look very pretty."

He was expecting the other teen to retort something or tell him to stop saying such things, but when it didn't come, he looked at the other teen and the sight once again greatly surprised him. Instead of being angry or irritated, Shinichiwas once again blushing and still fidgeting. He answered, seeming a bit unsure himself of what to reply, "Ah. R-right.."

A few seconds of silence passed before Kaito decided to talk about something else. "How's the walking in heels?" he asked.

"Oh. Um, fine, I think. But I'm still not that used to it," came the reply.

"Want to try practicing again now?"

"Sure, I guess."

"Alright," Kaito stepped away from his bed and suggested, "Why not try walking towards the bed and back a few times?"

He got a nod in response and Shinichi did as he was suggested. He walked slowly and carefully the first few times but after a few rounds, he seemed to be feeling more confident. This time his steps were quicker and so were his turns. But at one point, he turned too fast and lost his balance. He was too surprised that he didn't get to prepare himself for the fall and just closed his eyes, waiting for the impact on the floor.

Which never came. When he opened his eyes, he instinctively looked up and into a face that was so much like his own. They stayed like that for a while, the suit-clad boy holding the other by his waist and supporting his arm, both looking at each other intently, until they heard a cough. Almost immediately, the two separated and looked at anything but each other, blushing.

"Right," Heiji said, now dressed in a black suit as well. "I seem ta have missed somethin'. Anyway, our ride's here."

At this, Shinichi seemed to have returned a bit to normal. "Ride?" he asked.

The Kansai detective just smiled, "Of course. Ya' didn't think we'd be walking all the way ta the party, right?"

"Who is it?"

"Oh, I think you'll be surprised," Kaito said, back to normal as well, as he and Heiji exchanged smirks. He continued and motioned for the two to follow him out the door, "Come on, let's go."

* * *

><p>When they stepped out of the house after saying goodbye to Kaito's mom, sure enough there was a car outside. A car that seemed too familiar to Shinichi. Kaito told him to sit at the front passenger seat while while he and Heiji would be at the back. Once the three of them were seated, Heiji told the driver, "Thanks fer driving us tonight, <em>ossan<em>."

"I don't understand how you damn kids even had the nerve to ask me to drive you. I'm not just some damn chauffeur," came the gruff reply in a voice that was very familiar to Shinichi.

"But Mouri-san, if we didn't ask you to drive us tonight, you wouldn't get to meet our lady friend here," Kaito teased, motioning to Shinichi. At this, the older detective looked at the 'girl' on the passenger seat beside him. At the same time, Shinichi looked at the driver at the mention of the name Mouri. Sure enough, it was indeed Mouri Kogorou, his friend Ran's father. Both looked away from each other immediately: Shinichi because he was afraid that the older man would recognize him despite the disguise, and Kogorou because he felt embarrased looking at such a pretty teen girl. '_There are girls Ran's age who could look so pretty and mature?_' he thought, surprised.

The thief seemed to be expecting this kind of reaction from the older detective so he couldn't help but smirk. He continued, "Her name's Kaede Shizuka, in case you were wondering." This time, Shinichi and Heiji looked at him in surprise, but he paid it no mind. Meanwhile, the older detective just grunted in reply and restarted the car's engine. With that, they were off.

* * *

><p>The ride lasted for about an hour and was spent in silence, everyone being too wrapped up in their own thoughts. When they finally arrived at their destination, the three teens stepped off the car with Heiji talking one last time to Kogoro. "Thanks again, <em>ossan<em>. Will ya' be pickin' us up later as well?" he asked.

"Are you kidding?" came the irritated reply, "Of course I can't. I have other things to do too, you know. Just go get a cab or something."

"Right," Heiji replied. "Anyway, thanks again."

He just got another grunt in reply. Kogorou was about to drive off but he took one last glance at the only 'female' in their presence before he looked away again and finally drove off hurriedly.

The trio watched the older man drive off before they talked again.

"Someone seems to have a crush on _Shizuka-chan_ here," Kaito teased and laughed. Meanwhile, the person being teased didn't seem too happy. "Shut up, Kuroba," Shinichi replied, but still blushed. "And what's this 'Kaede Shizuka'? If I know, you planned this whole thing, didn't you?" With that, he sent a sharp look towards the thief.

"What? Of course not. I just realized that you needed a name for your disguise, and it was the first name that came to mind," Kaito replied in a tone that he hoped sounded sincere.

"Whatever," Shinichi said and turned his back on Kaito and crossed his arms over his chest. Or at least attempted to. It suddenly felt weird so he let his arms down on his sides instead.

"Right," Heiji suddenly said, getting in between the two. He grabbed both their shoulders and pushed them lightly towards the entrance of the hotel. He continued, "Let's save this fer later, alright? Fer now, we better get inside already." The two just nodded in agreement.

* * *

><p>They finally reached the hall where the party was to be held after showing their invitations (or in Shinichi's case, a forged one). The hall was large and ornately decorated. On either side were hallways leading to what they thought were rooms. Large red curtains draped the windows. The buffet tables were at the back, near the entrance. There were plenty of tables and chairs scattered around the hall except for the large space in the middle which was probably for dancing. Above this space hung a crystal chandelier. Up front was a stage with a microphone and beside this was a band playing music.<p>

The trio looked around, surveying the place and the people. They arrived a little late but there still weren't a lot of guests. They sat at a nearby table first before talking about their plan, which was basically watch out for any suspicious people or activity. They would go on their separate ways at first and ask around discreetly, but meet up at different times to report to each other.

Heiji and Kaito were eager to get their mission started. But Shinichi? Not so much.

"Wait," he said as the two other boys stood from their table. The request made them stop for a moment and look at the speaker. "I don't think I'm ready yet," Shinichi continued.

"Relax," Heiji said and tapped Shinichi's shoulder lightly. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

Kaito nodded and added, "Yeah. Just do as we practiced and no one will recognize you. And you'll get information."

Shinichi still looked unsure and worried that he might be recognized thus further humiliating himself. He was also worried that because of him, their plan might backfire and the organization would find out that there were three teenage boys who are keeping their eyes on them.

The two boys saw the worry in their friend's face. Fortunately, Kaito had an idea to make him relax a little. "Come on," he said, leading the other by the arm towards the buffet.

"Where are we going?" Shinichi asked, surprised.

"To get you a drink."

"But I'm not good when it comes to drinking alcohol."

"I didn't say you'd be drinking a lot. Just a few sips, if that's what'll help you calm down."

Shinichi thought about this for a moment and concluded that there probably would be no harm in just a few sips. '_Besides, Kuroba's right. It might help me calm down,_' he thought as he let himself be led to were he could get a drink. Behind them, Heiji just followed silently.

All three of them ended up having a drink and after it, they generally felt a little better, especially Shinichi.

"Think ya' can handle the mission now?" Heiji asked Shinichi as he peered from his wineglass to look at the other boy.

"I think so," Shinichi replied, this time in a more confident tone.

"That settles it," Kaito said. "Let's start now. Keep your eyes and ears open all the time. If any of us find anything out, don't hesitate to inform the other two. Still discreetly, of course. If things may get too dangerous, get away or get out as soon as you can. Alright?"

The other two nodded in understanding. With that, they went on their separate ways.

* * *

><p>A few hours into the night, still, nothing significant seemed to have happened. At the moment, Kaito was sitting in one of the chairs off to the side and observing the people at the dance floor. After a few minutes, the Kansai detective occupied the seat next to him. "Found out anythin'?" Heiji asked.<p>

"Nope," came the bored reply. "You?"

"Nothin' as well. Think we got a false tip?"

"Around half an hour ago."

There was a short silence between them until Heiji spoke up again, "Where's Kud- I mean, Kaede-san?"

Kaito pointed to a brunette on the dance area. At first, Heiji thought his companion was pointing to the wrong person since said brunette was dancing with a taller and strict-looking guy. But when he saw said brunette's profile, he found out that it was indeed their other friend. But the guy he was dancing with didn't make any sense. Unless he was fishing for information? That was probably the case, Heiji convinced himself.

Suddenly, Kaito stood up from his seat and said under his breath, "Seriously, what was that guy thinking drinking so much?" Heiji was about to ask what he meant when he walked off towards the brunette on the dance area. The Kansai detective was left to watch the scene before him.

When Kaito reached the dancing pair, he immediately addressed his friend, "Shizuka-chan! So this is where you are. We've been looking all over for you, you know?" This time, he addressed the dancing partner, "I'm sorry, sir. Is it alright if I borrow my friend for a while?"

To be honest, he was expecting the man to make a scene or be gruff about it. But he didn't expect the simple nod and walking off. At this, he returned his attention to his friend. "_Shizuka-chan_," he said, emphasizing the fake name, and held him by the shoulders, "Are you alright?"

The crossdressing boy blinked and looked at the thief. With this, Kaito's suspicions that his friend had been drinking a little too much was confirmed. The flushed cheeks and hazy eyes were a complete giveaway.

"Oh. Kaito-kun!"

And that too.

Kaito couldn't help but sigh. He made Shinichi drink a little wine a while ago to help him relax, but he didn't expect him to drink so much afterwards. '_Was he really that nervous about this whole mission?_' he thought.

But his thoughts were suddenly interrupted when his companion suddenly put his hands around his neck. "W-what?" he exclaimed.

"Come on, Kaito-kun. This is a social party, right? Might as well dance too," Shinichi slurred in a too-cheerful tone, very much unlike him. This made Kaito worry even more about how much his friend really had to drink.

"Shizuka-chan, you're drunk. Let's go home so you can rest," Kaito said calmly.

"But I wanna dance with Kaito-kun first," Shinichi said and pouted. At this, Kaito's heart suddenly skipped a beat. '_What the hell?_' he thought, this time worried about these weird feelings suddenly surfacing. It didn't help when Shinichi continued talking, this time looking into the thief's eyes intently, "You don't want to?"

Kaito looked away blushing. He was used to flirting with people for his missions, when the need arose, but not being on the receiving end of it. It didn't really help when the person flirting with him wasn't exactly aware of it and said person was his friend, who's actually a guy in a dress.

He tried to gather his thoughts properly and wondered what response he should make. Drunk Shinichi was hard to handle. Drunk Shinichi in a dress who had been trained to act like a girl just the previous week seemed even more problematic. Judging from his actions earlier, Shinichi would probably make a scene if Kaito refused. So he decided to just play along, for the moment.

"Alright," he sighed and put his hands on the other's waist, "But just one dance, alright?"

Just when he thought he'd be prepared for Shinichi's actions, he was surprised again when his friend suddenly gave a big smile that showed he was really happy. Once more, Kaito couldn't help but blush.

A slow song was on so they were just swaying side to side, content with each other's silence and the song in the background. They stayed like that for a moment, until Shinichi spoke up, "You know.."

"Hmm?"

"This feels kinda nice."

Kaito didn't really know how to reply to that. Dancing with a fellow guy seems nice? That seemed like such a weird thought, especially coming from Shinichi. But when he thought about it, it did seem a wee bit nice. With all the exciting things that happen around them - these things being his heists, different crime scenes, etc. - a bit of normalcy like dancing was very much welcome. Well, if you forget the fact that he was dancing with his guy friend who was in a dress. But all of these seemed too confusing for a person who was confused enough because of alcohol, so he just said nothing.

A bit unnerved that he got no reply, drunk Shinichi attempted conversation once again. "Kaito-kun, can I try something?"

"Try wha-"

Before the thief could finish his question, he felt warm lips on his. To say he was shocked was an understatement. His hands that were on the other's waist suddenly tensed then quickly went limp. His mind totally blanked out and he could register nothing but the scent of alcohol on the other's lips and, though he would never admit it out loud, how nice and soft those lips were.

The kiss ended almost as quickly as it came. Kaito was still too stunned to do or say anything, while Shinichi looked at him for a moment, as if judging his reaction, before smiling and walking off, leaving the thief right where he was.

* * *

><p>Heiji's reaction was not far off from Kaito's. He still couldn't believe at what happened between his two friends. '<em>For Kuroba to be out-tricked like that<em>,' he thought. He then concluded that that night's drunk Shinichi was a very dangerous person he should not mess with. He was determined to stay out of said person's way, when the person in his thoughts suddenly decided to take the seat next to him. The Kansai detective had never been more afraid.

"Heiji-kun?" came that husky and trained voice which sent goosebumps down Heiji's spine. He was wondering how on earth Shinichi managed to maintain that practiced voice despite being under the influence of too much alcohol. He also couldn't help but wonder how his friend made such a pretty girl. Kaito had certainly done well, a little too well, perhaps. But he'd dwell on those no longer; he looked away from his friend and started thinking instead of ways to escape from the same fate as the thief. For now though, he would keep the conversation going, but only for a short while.

"Y-yes?" he managed to get out. '_Real smooth, Heiji_,' he thought in dismay.

"Would you like to dance with me?"

"No."

Shinichi, though heavily drunk, was actually still capable of being surprised despite his actions earlier. But Heiji also seemed surprised at his immediate refusal. He scratched his head and thought of something else to say. Just when he thought of the words to say, they immediately died on his lips when he turned to look at his friend and felt those lips he wanted to stay away from on his.

It lasted for only a moment, but to the Kansai detective, it felt like it lasted much longer than that. A million thoughts were rushing into his head. And even when Shinichi already stood up from his seat and let him be there, his head was still a jumble of thoughts that didn't make any sense.

After what seemed like forever, he managed to return to normal. He then noticed Kaito making his way toward him.

"He got you too?" Kaito asked as he sat in the seat previously occupied by the culprit. Heiji could only nod his head meekly before putting his head in his hands. On the other hand, the too-stunned thief from a while ago seemed to be taking the whole thing much better now as he decided to take the event out of his mind by continuing what they were supposed to be doing.

* * *

><p>The night was growing deeper and more of the guests were leaving. Heiji and Kaito decided to call it a night even though they didn't really get any useful information. Neither did they catch a glimpse of any suspicious people or activity. They therefore concluded that they may have gotten a false tip indeed.<p>

They waited for a while for their remaining friend to make another appearance so they could finally get home. As the minutes ticked by, they were slowly becoming irritated. But when it was almost an hour since they started waiting and there was still no sign of Shinichi, irritation turned into worry.

Since the whole hall could be seen from where they were and there was no sign of him there, they decided to check the hallways that branched out on each side.

"I take the right, you take the left," Kaito said. Heiji nodded and they went on their separate ways.

* * *

><p>Contrary to what they thought earlier, the hallways didn't have rooms within them; they were just long corridors of carpet with dim lighting that became dimmer as you went forward, which was probably a good place to do things that could not be done easily in the open. With this, they became even more uneasy.<p>

On the left side, Heiji ran and ran, hoping to find their friend as soon as possible. He encountered a few people every now and then in what seemed like the endless hallway. He asked whether they had seen their friend which he described, but none of them saw Shinichi. With that, he just continued running. '_Kudou, where on earth are ya'?_' he thought worriedly.

On the other side, Kaito didn't seem to have much luck as well. However, unlike, Heiji, he didn't encounter any people in the hallway, which made him even more worried. As he ran, the hallway slowly became dimmer. He was concentrating too much on running and looking for a sign of Shinichi that he didn't notice an object on the ground. He tripped on it and almost fell before catching himself at the last moment. When he looked back at what he tripped on, his eyes widened in fear and surprise. He immediately took the object in his hands and ran faster than before.

'_Please be alright, Kudou_,' he thought as he ran, holding in his hands tightly the object from earlier - a brunette wig.

The hallway soon became almost entirely pitch black. He slowed down and took a few steps forward first, letting his sight get used to the dark environment. When he was a little used to the dark already, he sensed the surroundings. There didn't seem to be any danger, nor did there seem to be another person in that dark area.

He still continued onward though, when he suddenly felt the presence of another person. He tensed and almost grabbed his card gun, when he realized that said person didn't show any sign of action. When he squinted his eyes and looked in front of him, he vaguely saw the outline of a person lying on his/her side not too far from where he was. He immediately ran over hoping it was Shinichi and felt for the person's hand. It was deathly cold, but he could feel the pulse though it was a bit faint. He then decided to help this person out, torn between hoping that this was their friend and not.

He carried the person in his arms and walked briskly back in the direction of the hall. When he got to an area with sufficient light, he looked at the person he was carrying and paled almost instantly upon recognizing Shinichi's face. With that, he ran.

* * *

><p>He met Heiji as soon as he stepped out of the hallway. The Kansai detective was about to ask him whether he had any luck finding their friend but stopped when he saw that the answer was in the thief's arms.<p>

"What happened?" he asked, worried.

"No time to explain. Let's get a cab and get back to my place," Kaito replied, panic slowly creeping into his voice. This didn't go unnoticed by Heiji who then realized the gravity of the situation.

Both teens immediately went outside the hotel and called for a cab. Once they hailed one, all three sat at the back seat with the still unconscious Shinichi between the two of them.

Kaito looked out the window. He was frustrated with himself that he let the very much drunk Shinichi out of his sight. There was already something wrong with his friend then, but he didn't even bother thinking what would happen if the he went around by himself at the state he was in. And now this. He clenched his fist and with the action, he noticed that he was still holding on to the brunette wig that he almost tripped on from earlier. His irritated thoughts at himself then turned to confusion. He looked at Shinichi and saw that he still had long hair. Then whose wig was it that he was holding?

On the other hand, Heiji couldn't take his eyes off their friend's face. He was looking out for any signs of consciousness which he hoped would appear soon. But he found it hard to look since all he saw was the still-deathly pale face and an expression that looked like the boy was in so much pain. He grit his teeth and hardened his expression.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence, both boys still wrapped in their own thoughts, and both wishing that this horrible night would end soon.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> Well that was much longer than I expected. Actually, when I first wrote this, it was as a continuous story. So no chapters, just one long story in a notebook. It's actually very hard to think of the right moment where to end a chapter. Hmm.

Sorry about the descriptions. I'm not very good at them, be it description of a person or a place or whatever. I'll still try my best though.

I'm still not quite sure when I may be able to finish the next chapter. I have to rack my brain for the original story first, then try to improve on that.

Thank you for those reading this! Please do leave reviews when you can so I know what to improve on. :)


	2. Friends

**Author's Notes: **First of all, thank you to all who reviewed! As well as to those who put this story and me on their alerts and favorites. It really means so much to me. At the same time, it makes me want to write even better so I wouldn't disappoint you guys. :D

This took quite longer to finish than I thought, especially since there were several times that I couldn't think of a proper way to move the story forward. And also because I tried to incorporate the constructive criticisms that I received. I'm not sure if I've been very successful at that, but I'm still trying my best.

Warnings: _Shounen ai_, AU I think, OOC-ness, and one thing that you shall find out if you read on. Hehe.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan in any way.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Two: Friends<strong>

When Shinichi opened his eyes, sunlight was peeking through the windows. He was tucked in bed, a bed that was not his own actually. He sat up and immediately felt as if his head would explode. He put a hand to his head and tried to think of the events in the past 24 hours, despite the pain.

He, along with Kaito and Heiji, went to a party last night to find out more information about the Black Organization, which, as they were told, were going to said party. But he didn't get any useful information. He got many catcalls and passes though since he was dressed up as a girl then.

'_Oh, how would I _ever_ forget that?_' he thought, putting himself in a bad mood.

Anyway, drinks were offered to him by the people he tried to get information from and he ended up drinking a bit too much. He remembered that at one point, he was dancing with Kaito.

'_What on earth was I thinking then?_'

He also remembered sitting next to Heiji and striking a short conversation with him, before walking off who-knows-where. He vaguely remembered a dark corridor and seeing someone, but after that, he could only think of darkness.

He groaned as his head throbbed even more. '_Remind me to never drink again. _Ever,' he thought miserably.

In the middle of his musings, he didn't notice that the two people he had been thinking about had entered the room, which was actually Kaito's room.

"Good morning, sunshine!" the owner of room chirped, which earned him a glare from the person on his bed. "Woah. Calm down, Kudou. I was just greeting you a good morning," he continued.

Shinichi rubbed his temples and said in a voice that was trying to be patient, "Alright. But please don't talk too loud. My head hurts enough already, thankyouverymuch."

"Huge hangover, huh?"

"Way ta' point out the obvious, Kuroba," Heiji said.

"I was just trying to make conversation," Kaito shrugged and returned his attention to the current occupant of his bed. "Kudou, Mom prepared breakfast downstairs. I suggest you get changed before then. Unless you're quite comfortable with your current attire?" He added the last part in a teasing manner.

It was then that Shinichi got a good look at himself. To his horror, he realized that he was still wearing the dress from last night! He immediately covered himself with the blanket on the bed in embarrassment. However, the sudden motion made him feel even more light-headed. And so, he closed his eyes in attempt to make the world stop spinning. This didn't go unnoticed by his two friends in the same room. Kaito grabbed the change of clothes on his desk and put it on his bed beside Shinichi.

"Here's a change of clothes for you. You can change here in my room. Meanwhile, we'll just be downstairs. If you need anything, just call out, alright?" he said. Despite his growing headache, Shinichi managed to nod his head in understanding. With that, the two other teens went out the door and left him to change.

Shinichi blinked his eyes blearily and eyed the clothes. He figured he might as well change because the sooner he was out of the dress, the better.

* * *

><p>Moments later, Kaito and Heiji were almost downstairs when they heard a scream from the room they just left. They looked at each other for a moment before hurrying up the stairs and back into the room. Needless to say, they were surprised at the sight that befell them.<p>

They were expecting to see something so horrible that made even _the _Kudo Shinichi scream, but they sure didn't expect a brunette girl with her back to them. When they entered the room, she turned to look at them and it was then that they noticed her lack of clothing. Both boys were red in the face but it was only Heiji who had the grace to be embarrassed and looked away, while Kaito seemed too stunned to take his eyes off her. But their faces were nothing compared to the girl whose face was bright red from the extreme embarrassment. She tried to cover up her underwear-only-clad self but when that failed, she tried the next best thing.

"OUT!" she all but bellowed as she pushed the two boys out the room.

When the door was slammed behind them, it seemed like it was only then that their senses fully returned to them.

"Was that.." Kaito started.

"..who I think it was?" Heiji continued.

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, the door to Kaito's room opened and out came the girl from earlier wearing a shirt large for her frame and a pair of shorts that were barely staying on her hips so she just held onto them. She seemed frustrated with her attire since she kept on fussing with the shorts that just wouldn't stay put. At the same time, she looked a bit troubled. She didn't notice that the two boys from earlier were now in front of her until their shadow fell over her. She looked up into their faces and were surprised at the seriousness there. They said nothing but walked forward, so she had no choice but to step back into the room. This continued until her last step backward made her trip and sit on the bed. By then, all three of them were in the room with the door closed so no one would disturb them. This made the girl gulp in nervousness.<p>

The Kansai detective settled for leaning on the wall while the thief stood in front of his desk. The silence continued until the girl decided to break it, but even then, Kaito beat her to it. "What happened..Kudou?" he asked.

At the name, the girl couldn't help but flinch. Any words she wanted to say died on her lips.

"Ya' _are_ Kudou, aren't ya'?" This time it was Heiji who spoke up, although his tone seemed careful.

This time, the girl closed her eyes as if in deep thought, and nodded.

It was then that the two boys got a good look at him/her. Come to think of it, why didn't they recognize their friend immediately when they opened the door earlier? After all, s/he still looked pretty much the same as the disguise they made him/her wear last night.

"What happened, Kudou?" Kaito repeated the question, though this time there was an edge of worry in his voice.

The girl, who is actually Shinichi, retold his/her thoughts from when s/he woke up awhile ago. The information wasn't much, but it was all s/he had anyway.

The two other teens seemed to be in deep thought, processing what they heard, before Shinichi spoke up again, cringing at the unfamiliar voice coming from his/her lips, "How about you guys? Do you know anything of what could have caused..this?"

Kaito and Heiji looked at each other for a moment before the former retold his story of how he found him/her in a dark corridor, unconscious, and deathly cold. The more he described the state in which he found Shinichi, the person he was talking about seemed to be getting paler and looked very worried. And when the thief brought up and showed the wig that he found, Shinichi was already trembling all over. At this the two boys looked at him/her, worry evident in their faces. They just stayed silent though, and waited for their friend to take his/her time in saying what s/he wanted to say.

When Shinichi spoke, even his/her voice was trembling. "Those signs you saw in me last night, I couldn't help but think that they sounded familiar. But then it clicked, they sounded familiar because they were the same symptoms I felt that fateful day that.." s/he then trailed off.

S/He took a moment to compose him/herself before continuing, "Isn't it obvious? I've been drugged again by _them_. Only this time, the drug didn't turn me into a kid, but into a..girl.." At that, the now-confirmed boy-turned-girl couldn't help but choke as tears spilled down her cheeks. She did nothing to stop them though, and only let them fall freely as she cried silently.

On the other hand, Kaito and Heiji were at a loss on what to do to comfort her. They never really understood it when girls became emotional, but a friend who used to be a guy and was now a girl seemed a bit more complicated.

It was Heiji who moved first and sat next to her on the bed though. Still quite unsure of what to do, he just placed his hand on her back, rubbing circles hoping it would somehow soothe her. Kaito moved next and sat on her other side and put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

At these actions, she seemed to have calmed down a little. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and said in a tone that she hoped sounded a bit cheerful, "Sorry about this. Oh God. I haven't been a girl for more than 24 hours yet I'm already bawling my eyes out like this."

The three of them couldn't help but laugh a little at that. "Don't worry. Ya'll..get used ta it, I guess," Heiji said, trying to choose his words carefully.

"Hmm. Yeah, maybe," Shinichi said, this time feeling a bit better.

"What are ya' plannin' ta do now though?" he continued.

"I..don't know actually.." she replied, suddenly looking confused herself.

The reply surprised her friends, especially Kaito. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, his hand on the other's shoulder suddenly tensing.

She didn't fail to notice this, but she struggled with what to say.

Kaito took her silence as an opportunity to continue talking. "You won't even try to find a way to turn back?" he said in a somewhat accusing tone, but his face remained expressionless.

Words were failing her once again, as she failed to find the right words to explain what was on her mind. "It's just that.. This time it feels different," she started. "This is already the second time this has happened to me. And the first change lasted for..what, years? You don't know how it feels like to think that you'll never get your old body back.." She said the last part in a smaller voice.

But Kaito seemed like he couldn't keep his temper. He withdrew his hand from the shoulder he was trying to comfort just earlier, stood up from his bed, and said in a low voice, "I might not know how it feels like, but at least _Conan_ never gave up. I thought you would be the same, _Shizuka_." He emphasized the fake names so much, especially the second one, that the one person they were pertaining to couldn't help but just close her eyes and accept the words as if they were blows. With that, he left the room, but not before slamming the door close.

Silence prevailed for a few moments before Heiji attempted to break it, "Kudou?"

"No," she replied almost immediately. "It's..Kaede Shizuka now, isn't it?" And she shot a sad smile at him.

At the sight, the Kansai detective couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart. That smile was so beautiful, but at the same time so heartbreakingly sad, as if she really had accepted her unfortunate fate.

"Are ya'..really sure 'bout this?" he asked.

She seemed to hesitate for a moment but she still managed to say firmly, "Yes, I'm sure."

Heiji remained looking at her, as if searching her face for any sign that this wasn't what she really wanted.

Shinichi - now Shizuka - was surprised when her friend suddenly put an arm around her shoulders and made her head rest on his shoulders. They stayed like that for a while in what seemed to her an awkward silence, before she spoke up, "Heiji? What are you doing?"

Suddenly embarrassed, the other teen removed his hand from the now-girl's shoulder and blushed, saying, "N-nothin'. Just got carried away a bit."

"Well, don't get carried away again. I might look like this now, but that doesn't mean you guys should treat me like a girl. That goes especially for you who know about what really happened."

"But ya' sure seem ta be babblin' like one," Heiji mumbled, which, unfortunately for him, the girl beside him heard. She looked at him sharply, as if saying that she didn't like his comment, but he just shrugged and scratched his head.

He spoke up again though, this time seriously, "What are ya' gonna do 'bout Kuroba though?"

Shizuka bit her lip and thought for a moment, before saying, "I have no choice, do I? I just have to talk to him and explain my side. If he's still not ok with that, at least I tried, right?" At this, she looked at him, as if waiting for a confirmation, which she received when he nodded at her words.

"I don't think it'll be easy ta get him ta understand your reasons, but if ya' need anythin', I'll be here ta help," Heiji offered.

"Sure. Thanks Heiji," Shizuka replied, feeling a bit better that someone was on her side.

"Hey. Ya' called me by my first name! That's twice already!" he suddenly said.

Shizuka was surprised at this, and when she thought about it, it was true. She had indeed called him 'Heiji' twice now. "Sorry about that," she said apologetically, "If you want, I'll just return to calling you 'Hattori'."

"No, no," he said, waving his hands as if emphasizing his words. "I'm fine with 'Heiji'. I guess I was just surprised that ya' suddenly called me that, but it's really just fine."

"Sure?"

"Sure."

"Does that mean you have to call me by my first name now too?"

"Well, if ya' want."

She thought about this for a moment before finally agreeing, "Sure, why not. Besides, it'll help me get used to my new name."

They looked at each other for a moment. And when both their stomachs growled, they couldn't help but laugh.

"Let's go downstairs now. Kuroba's mom must be wonderin' why we hadn't gone down yet," Heiji said as he stood up and made for the door. Shizuka nodded and followed, but not before a final tug at her loose shorts.

* * *

><p>When they arrived at the kitchen downstairs, they saw Kaito's mom, Kuroba Chikage, sitting in a chair and looking anxious. She was a pretty woman who looked quite young. She had blue eyes, a different shade from her son Kaito's, but there seemed to be a familiar mischievous twinkle there as well. Whenever the teens saw her, she was always smiling and looked quite happy, but not this time.<p>

Upon seeing the two teens, she stood up from her chair and approached them, asking worriedly, "Did something happen? Kai-chan looked quite upset and suddenly stormed off the house."

Heiji and Shizuka looked at each other, wondering if they should tell her. Well, she already knew about the mission they did last night, so might as well tell her everything that happened during the night and the aftermath.

After the explanation, Chikage stood in front Shizuka and looked at her carefully, as if appraising her appearance. She then asked, putting her hands on the now-girl's face, "Is this really the new you, Shin-kun? This is what you're going to be from now on?"

"Yes," came the reply.

"Are you sure?"

"..yes." This time, the reply was a bit hesitant and seemed unsure, which did not escape the woman's notice. She let down her hands from the Shizuka's face and said, "If you want to convince Kai-chan, you have to believe your decision whole-heartedly first."

The boy-turned-girl looked at her, surprised. She also noticed Heiji nodding his head, as if supporting what the woman said. She looked down and said, "It's just.. Of course, I want to go back to my old body, but I don't want to keep my hopes up too much. I might just end up disappointed after all."

"But it's still better to try, isn't it?" Chikage said with a smile.

"Yeah. And ya'll have me an' Kuroba here ta help ya' out, ya' know," Heiji added.

Shizuka looked at the two of them and smiled a little as well, saying, "You're right. Thank you."

Chikage put her hands on the girl's shoulders and said, "Now just tell Kai-chan that and I'm sure the two of you will make up. Speaking of, he's here!"

True enough, they heard the front door open and slam shut. There was also the sound of footsteps going up the stairs and of another door slamming shut. There was a short silence before Shizuka spoke up, "I think I better talk to him now."

"Want me ta come along?" Heiji offered.

"No. I think it'll be better if it's just the two of us," came her reply. She then looked at her two companions in the room before heading upstairs.

* * *

><p>Though she said all those, in all honesty, she wasn't really prepared to confront her friend yet. Thus the slow steps she took as she ascended the stairs. And when she reached Kaito's door, she wished that she was still downstairs and talking to Heiji and Kaito's mom. Hell, she wanted to be anywhere but there at that moment.<p>

She then shook her head of such thoughts. Kaito was one of the very few friends that she had and she didn't want to lose him. After all, they had gone through so much.

* * *

><p><em>Flashback<em>

_It was just a few months after Shinichi had gotten his old body back. Ever since he 'returned', he had been asked to help again the police with their cases. He helped them, on the condition that his name would never be mentioned whenever the case was solved and published in the papers. This baffled the police, especially Megure-keibu who knew the boy so well, since they knew that Shinichi practically wanted to be in the spotlight whenever he solved cases. But since he would be helping them anyway, there was no reason to question his sudden change of heart so they agreed._

_It was actually to keep himself, and in turn, those around him, safe from the Black Organization, but they didn't need to know that._

_It was one of those times that the police asked for his help, but this instance was much more unique since it involved a KID heist. Heiji was also called in to help so the police were much more confident this time._

_However, like any other KID heist, the gem was stolen and the police out-tricked. The only thing that was different was that there was a newbie in the police force, who were broken into groups and assigned to different areas of the city that night._

_KID was escaping using his trusty hang glider, but the two teen detectives were hot on his heels as they followed him using Heiji's motorbike._

_The chase continued until they were in the heart of the city, where there was moderate traffic and tall buildings all around. Both the pursued and the pursuers caught the attention of the people: the thief with his white glider and outfit, and the two detectives with Heiji's reckless driving._

_Suddenly, Shinichi heard a shot. He looked around and saw that a group of the police force were assigned to the area they were currently in. Just as he and Heiji sped away, he managed to catch a glimpse of one unfamiliar police officer lowering his gun. And was it just him or did he really see an evil grin cross the officer's face?_

_But he didn't have enough time to dwell on that because Heiji's shout brought him back to the current problem at hand, "Oi, Kudou! KID's descendin'!"_

_When he turned to look, sure enough, KID was slowly losing altitude. He was currently only around a few feet above them and on level with the buildings. He then made a sharp turn and disappeared behind a building._

_Heiji made the same turn and found an alley. He and Shinichi got off the motorbike quickly and split up to search the area. They found nobody though, so they decided to look around the surrounding area a bit more._

_Still, Shinichi found nothing. As he was walking back to the vehicle they used, he heard Heiji shouting once again._

_"Kudou! What the hell happened ta ya'!"_

_He looked at himself and saw nothing wrong, so he wondered what the Kansai detective was shouting about and where that shouting was coming from._

_He walked a bit more and saw Heiji on the other side of the street. He was supporting someone and slowly, people were starting to gather around them. Shinichi quickly crossed the street to see what was going on. To say he was surprised at what he saw was an understatement._

_Heiji was supporting a wounded person who had been shot in the stomach. However, that wasn't what surprised Shinichi, but that the person looked so similar to him, only with messy hair and wearing different clothes._

_It was then that Heiji looked up and saw the stunned look on his friend's face. It took him a moment to process that the person standing before him and the one he was supporting looked so alike. He looked between the two back and forth, as if checking whether or not his eyes were deceiving him._

_Suddenly, it was as if detective-mode kicked in and Shinichi returned to his senses, as he asked, "Did you call an ambulance already?"_

_It was then that Heiji forgot his shock and confusion as well, and he answered, "Yeah. That must be it now."_

_True enough, an ambulance's siren could be heard then. It slowly became louder until it stopped on the street they were in. The medics carried the wounded person onto a stretcher and into the vehicle while Shinichi and Heiji were allowed to sit with the victim. The two exchanged glances but said nothing, saving their words for when they were alone._

* * *

><p><em>At the hospital, the doctor told Shinichi and Heiji that the person, who was identified as Kuroba Kaito, would live. Thankfully, the bullet wasn't able to penetrate deep enough and it was taken out safely. The doctor also said the patient's room number, in case they wanted to visit him. And so they did.<em>

_When they got to the room, there was a woman there. She introduced herself as Kuroba Chikage, the patient's mother. In turn, Heiji and Shinichi introduced themselves as well. She thanked them for saving her son's life, but they said it was nothing; it was normal to help other people after all._

_"Kuroba-san," Shinichi said, but was cut off when the woman interrupted, "Please, just call me 'Chikage'."_

_He nodded and continued, "Chikage-san, we want to talk to your son when he wakes up, privately, as much as possible. Is it alright if you leave the room for a moment?"_

_He was surprised when the woman shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, but I can't."_

_The two tried persuading her more, but she wouldn't budge. Suddenly, they heard a voice say, "Whatever it is you want to talk to me about, I'm sure my mom's good enough to hear it too."_

_They turned to look at Kaito, who was now awake and sitting up on the hospital bed. He gave a small smile, but the two detectives didn't trust it. They looked at each other, thinking whether they should continue with talking to him with his mother in the room as well._

_"Come on, let's just get this over with," Heiji said impatiently. Shinichi thought for another moment before finally nodding. He turned to look at Kaito and said, "It's good to see you're alright, Kuroba-san. Or should we say, _Kaitou KID_."_

_They were expecting a surprised or defensive reaction, but they sure didn't expect the smile from earlier to stay in place, which actually seemed to have grown a fraction._

_"My, I thought detectives gathered clues and evidence first before pronouncing the suspect? But now I'm being accused of being someone I'm clearly not," Kaito said._

_"Don't play games with us. We know you're KID," Heiji said and looked sharply at him._

_"And what exactly is your basis for that?"_

_"Because we saw a police officer shoot and hit KID, making him crash behind a building. We didn't find him, but then we see you who happened to be shot as well. Coincidence much? I don't think so," Shinichi supplied._

_Kaito was planning to retain his mask, but the police officer bit surprised him, and this did not escape the detectives' notice. They looked at him even harder and seeing that nothing good would happen with continuing lying, he gave up. "Alright, you're right. I am KID, but what are you going to do about it? Hand me over to the police?"_

_To his surprise, the answer he received was, "No. Well, not yet. We want to hear your reasons for doing this first. From there, we'll decide whether we will hand you over to the police or not."_

_"And why should I trust you?"_

_"Because Kudo's perception of law an' justice are different," Heiji said. "He's willin' ta break the law if it means catchin' the culprit an' obtainin' justice. At the same time, in your case, he'd be willin' ta lie ta the police if he deems your reason justifiable enough. After all, ya' never really hurt anyone. An' on top of that, ya' return what ya' steal. Though stealin' is still bad."_

_Shinichi raised an eyebrow at the sudden analysis of his personality. He dismissed it quickly though and turned to Kaito again, "Well, that, I guess. And because I trust you. You knew about 'Conan Edogawa's' identity before, and you also helped me a few times when my identity was in danger of being found out. For that, I trust you."_

_Kaito thought for a moment. Yes, he knew Conan's real identity and didn't disclose it to anyone, but it was only because it was fun to play with the detective-turned-_chibi_. He always did make the heists more interesting. So he decided he'd take a chance at telling the two. Besides, they already knew his identity anyway._

_Just as he was about to speak, his mom beat him to it. It was her who told everything, from Kuroba Touichi, his father, being the original KID; to his being killed by an organization who wanted him to retrieve a gem that would give immortality; and to Kaito discovering about his dad and taking on his identity in order to lure out those who killed him._

_The other three occupants of the room stared at her. Heiji spoke up first though, turning to Kaito, "Your mother knew 'bout this?"_

_Kaito seemed genuinely surprised that his mother actually knew so much, but he still said nothing. Meanwhile, she continued speaking, "Of course. What kind of mother would I be if I didn't even know that my son had been risking his life every time he went out on a heist?"_

* * *

><p><em>Shinichi and Heiji went and talked in a corner of the room so that Kaito and his mom could hear nothing of their conversation. The latter pair looked at each other and it was then Kaito realized that even thinking of being able to keep a secret like this from his mother was actually just absurd. Of course she knew about his dad's identity; he was her husband, for God's sake. So when he died and another Kaitou KID appeared after some time, she put two and two together and realized that it was now her son who was playing the part of the phantom thief. She probably just kept quiet about her knowledge because she was waiting for him to tell her himself. Now he understood all those times she would send him worried glances when she knew that a KID heist was up.<em>

_He then tried to convey his apology to her for never telling her through his facial expression that he sent her way, but she just smiled at him in a kind manner, like mothers always do, as if saying, 'It's alright. I understand.'_

_It was then that the two detectives finished talking by themselves and announced their decision. Kaito and his mom waited, and when it was said that he wouldn't be handed over to the police, he found out that he wasn't really surprised._

* * *

><p><em>From then on, the three saw each other more often. At first it was only because of a common subject: the organization that killed Kaito's dad which was actually the same Black Organization that Shinichi and Heiji were trying to bring down. But their meetings soon took a friendlier turn and they actually started to hang out at times just for the heck of it. They may be intelligent teens quite mature for their age, but they were still teens nonetheless.<em>

_Kaito still continued with his heists, though he was more careful now, and Shinichi and Heiji still 'pursued' him. But mostly, the latter were just doing it for the fun of solving the riddles thrown their way, to which Kaito would happily oblige._

_End Flashback_

* * *

><p>Shizuka smiled at the memory. It was a curious thing, really, the way the three of them got together and became friends. She didn't have much friends before because she was deemed too mature compared to her peers. To think that she'd actually find people who were on pretty much the same wavelength as her, of course she wouldn't want to lose these friends of hers.<p>

With that, she was more determined to make up with Kaito, when his voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts.

"Done reminiscing?" he asked.

She looked at the door she was standing in front of and saw him leaning by the door frame, an amused grin on his face. She felt embarrassed that she was caught spacing out like that, but then she remembered what she was supposed to be doing there.

"Listen, Kaito. About earlier-"

But she was immediately cut off when he raised his hand, silencing her. He then said, "It's..alright. I realized that I didn't have any right to be mad at you since that was your decision. In fact, it's our fault you ended up like that, remember? Because we made you disguise yourself last night. So.. Sorry." He then scratched his head sheepishly.

"I'm sorry too," Shizuka replied. "I was just afraid to get my hopes too high up since I might just get disappointed. But after talking with Auntie and Heiji, I realized that it _is_ better to try and fail than to give up immediately. Besides, you'll be helping, won't you, Kaito?"

The boyish grin was back in place, though this time it looked sincere. He said, "Of course!"

Shizuka smiled and held out her hand, "So..we're ok now?"

Kaito took it and planted a kiss on the back of her hand, "Yes, _Shizuka-chan_." The name was said in his usual teasing manner but still made her blush and withdraw her hand quickly. "W-what was that for?" she asked, a bit nervous.

"But you started it by suddenly calling me 'Kaito'."

"Oh. Again? I was like that with Heiji too, awhile ago."

"I'm guessing he's ok with it? So it's ok with me too."

"Alright," Shizuka nodded and was about to return downstairs, before suddenly facing the thief again, blushing. "But don't do that..kissing..the hand..thing, ever again, alright?"

"Why not?" came the innocent reply.

"Because," was her sole reply before she went down the stairs, her cheeks still feeling hot.

* * *

><p>A little while later, Kaito joined them in the kitchen where lunch was already being prepared by his mom. All three were eager to help just to prepare the food quickly because they all weren't able to eat breakfast.<p>

While eating, the atmosphere seemed happy and friendly, since everything was ok with everybody now. Small talk between all of them was also made. At one point, what happened the previous night was brought up once again.

"By the way," Kaito said, turning to Shizuka. "Do you remember anything that you did while you were drunk last night?"

Almost immediately, Heiji choked on the water he happened to be drinking at that moment. When he recovered, he refused to continue eating or drinking. All the while, he was red in the face.

Shizuka noticed this but was clueless as to the reason. She responded to Kaito's question, "I remember dancing with you, as well as talking to Heiji. Why do you ask?"

"Ah," came the short reply that did nothing to enlighten her.

"Did..did I do something stupid?" she asked, suddenly worried. "I didn't strip and dance on top of a table or something, did I?" She then gave a nervous laugh.

Her three companions just stared at her. Even Heiji seemed to have forgotten his embarrassment while Chikage looked a bit worried. But Kaito was different.

"Um," he started, hesitating a bit with what he was about to say. "Actually, you did."

The reaction was immediate. Shizuka stood up from her seat so suddenly that her chair fell over. There was a look of unexplainable mix of horror, embarrassment, mortification, and plenty others. At the sight, the thief couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm sorry! I was just kidding," he said, trying to stop laughing.

She almost relaxed at that but Kaito continued in a non-chalant manner, "You did kiss me and Hattori though."

With that, she fell into a dead faint.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>*looks at the number of pages* WOW. I seriously didn't expect this chapter to be much longer than the first. O.O

As to how the chapter ended, I honestly didn't know where to end this. So I just opted for a kinda funny ending. It seemed much funnier when it was in my head though. -.- Anyway, poor Shinichi. Hehe.

One more thing. I know it's never really confirmed whether the organization Kaito's after is the same as the Black Organization who shrunk Shinichi. But for the sake of this story, let's assume that they're the same. I know the name Snake isn't related to alcohol, but apparently, Snake Wine and Snakebite are. So yeah, I'm just making random connections. XD

I wanna try replying to reviews. Hehe. ^^

_CrazyGirl19: Aww. Thank you so much! I really appreciate your review. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well! :)_

_Blind writer: Thank you for pointing out the things I have to work on! It really helped me! About thinking like the character for the POV, I don't think I'm that good yet. I read more about the characters to understand them better, and though I feel that I do understand them more, for some reason I found it a bit difficult to incorporate that into the story. Please forgive me. D: As for Heiji's unique speech pattern, I actually thought of putting it since the first chapter, but I wasn't sure then how to make it not too difficult to understand. But I still gave it a go here. Was it alright, too much, or too less? And here's the answer to 'how Shinichi and Heiji knew Kaito as Kid and why they didn't arrest him'. :D __Once again, thank you so much for the review! :)_

_Kaida-14Kage: Thank you for the review! Hehe. Was this what you thought happened to Shinichi? I tried not to give it away too much in the first chapter, but I'm not sure if I was effective in not making it very obvious. XD Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well! :)_

That's it for now since I might just end up rambling here. XD Please do review! :)


	3. Getting Started

**Author's Notes: **Once again, thank you to all the reviews! I was really happy to receive some feedback that there are actually people reading this and anticipating future chapters. ^^

I felt a little bad about torturing Shinichi here, but it was just fun writing it. XD

Warnings: Female Shinichi, _shounen ai_, AU I think, and OOC-ness.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan in any way.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Three: Getting Started<strong>

It was the second time that day that Shizuka woke up in a bed that was not her own, and it felt quite weird. However, she suddenly remembered the conversation before she fainted awhile ago. Almost immediately, she sat up and put a hand on her lips, red in the face.

'_W-was Kaito serious when he said that? Did I really..kiss..him and Heiji..?_' She was horrified at the thought. She then shook her head, refusing to believe such a thing. '_No way. He must still be kidding. He was joking about the stripping and dancing after all, so maybe this one's a joke as well._'

With that thought, she stood up from the bed and was about to head out of the room when Kaito's mom entered, carrying a bunch of clothes. "How are you feeling, Shizuka-chan?" she asked.

"Oh. Um. I'm alright," Shizuka smiled in reply, sitting back down.

"I'm sorry about Kai-chan. He loves to joke around but when he does say the truth, he does it in such an off-handed manner that people think he's still kidding around," Chikage sighed and sat beside the girl on the bed.

"Oh. Don't worry, Auntie. It's al-"

'_Wait. _WHAT_?_'

Shizuka didn't realize that she exclaimed that thought out loud, until she noticed the shocked look on Chikage's face. The woman was about to ask her what was wrong, but she beat her to it. "Auntie, are you serious? What Kaito said awhile ago, that was the truth?" she asked, looking serious. Chikage just nodded.

She then groaned and put her head in her hands. "Oh God. I kissed my two best friends. What is wrong with me? What did I do to deserve this?" she said miserably.

"Shizuka-chan," Chikage said and put a reassuring hand on the other's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. They said you were under the influence of alcohol then, so you weren't aware of your actions. Besides," she winked and continued, "I already reprimanded Kaito and made both of them swear to never bring up the topic again."

The teen still looked mortified, but she seemed somewhat reassured at the woman's words. At least those two would never bring it up again.

Seeing Shizuka felt a little better now, Chikage presented the clothes she brought. "By the way, I noticed that your clothes aren't exactly a proper fit for you now, so I brought you something to change into. These were my clothes when I was a bit younger so they should fit you. And they aren't very feminine, if that's what you're worried about." She added the last part when she saw a flash of worry cross Shizuka's face.

"Ah. That wasn't what I.. Um. Anyway, thank you, Auntie," she replied and bowed a bit.

Kaito's mom stood up and moved to the door, saying, "No problem, dear. Now I'll be leaving you to change. I'll be downstairs if you need anything." With that she went out.

Shizuka inspected the clothes. Sure enough, they weren't exactly very feminine. The white top was plain and with 3/4 sleeves. Meanwhile, the beige shorts ended just above her knees. The only feminine thing about them perhaps was that they were a bit fit, unlike what she usually wore. But that was better than clothes that were hanging off of her body, like the ones she was currently wearing. With that, she started changing.

* * *

><p>A moment later, another scream was heard. At that time, Heiji and Kaito were seated in the living room with Kaito's mom. The two immediately stood up from their seats, but felt a sudden feeling of deja vu and sat back down.<p>

Chikage found this curious so she asked, "Aren't you going to see what could have happened to her?"

Both boys were a bit red in the face but it was Heiji who replied. "M-maybe ya' should be the one ta see her, Auntie. It might be a..girl thing," he said, looking a bit nervous.

She was confused at this, but did as was suggested anyway.

When she reached the door, she knocked and called out, "Shizuka-chan, are you alright?"

Almost immediately, the door opened and she was pulled inside.

"Auntie, please help me!" came the panicking voice.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I'm bleeding!"

This surprised Chikage and she asked urgently, inspecting the teen's body, "Where is it? Is it from a wound? Do you know where you got it?"

"Um. It's..down there," came the embarrassed reply.

A sudden pause. Then, ".._down there_?"

The teen just nodded meekly, still feeling embarrassed but at the same time, also feeling scared.

Suddenly, Chikage giggled. This caused Shizuka to just stare at her. Honestly, she was expecting the woman to panic, or fuss even more, or even run downstairs and call an ambulance! But this..giggling? What on earth was going on?

As if to answer her questions, Chikage put her hands on the girl's shoulders and said, "Don't worry, Shizuka-chan. You're fine. You're just having your period."

Upon hearing the word, Shizuka's mind seemed to have blacked out. Period? The event in a woman's life which made sane men steer clear of the fairer sex because of the fear of incurring their wrath? The thing that happened to girls that made them bawl their eyes out one moment, then pissed off as hell the next? What gods had she angered to deserve such a punishment?

For the second time that hour, Shizuka put her head in her hands and groaned miserably.

* * *

><p>And so, Shizuka had an impromptu lesson about being a girl. Chikage was very patient while teaching her the basic stuff, but she still felt uncomfortable the whole time. She thought that the 'training' she underwent from Kaito the previous week in order to prepare her for the mission was bad enough, but this was much worse. She never knew how complicated it actually was to be a girl.<p>

* * *

><p>When they were done, they went downstairs to where Heiji and Kaito were waiting, albeit a bit anxiously because they were wondering what was taking so long. They noticed that Chikage looked somehow amused, while Shizuka looked a bit distracted, mumbling something about shaving, monthly visitors, and many other things they were sure they would rather not know about.<p>

They thought that all of them could finally talk again, but Chikage actually seemed to have other things in mind. She disappeared for awhile and returned carrying a purse. At this, Kaito and Heiji looked at her, confused.

"What are you staring at for? Are you two coming or not?" she asked, a hand on her hip.

"Uh. Where are we exactly supposed to be going, Mom?" Kaito asked.

"Shopping, of course," she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, but the two boys were still clueless. At this, she sighed and continued, "Shopping for Shizuka-chan's new clothes. After all, she can't wear my old clothes forever."

Both boys made a small 'Oh' of understanding while Shizuka seemed to have stopped being distracted. "Ah, wait. We don't have to do that, Auntie. I'll just..ask my mom, or something," she said.

"Don't worry about it. It's better that you get to choose your own clothes for now. Or would you rather want to wear your mother's clothes?"

Shizuka thought about it and grimaced. Her mother was very feminine so there would probably be lots of skirts, blouses, and other frilly and feminine clothes she'd rather stay away from. So she agreed, but not before promising to pay the woman back some time.

Chikage glanced at Kaito and Heiji, as if asking them one last time whether they would be coming or not. This time, they agreed without hesitation.

* * *

><p>Shizuka thought the shopping experience would be a horrible one since she knew that most girls found it..exciting and fun, which she really didn't understand. Thankfully, Chikage spared her that kind of experience. Perhaps it was because she knew that Shizuka used to be a guy. Or perhaps because she thought the girl already had enough to deal with, and she didn't want to add anymore to that. Whatever her reasons were, the teen was feeling very grateful.<p>

In just a few hours, they already bought her enough clothes to last for some time. Most of them were Chikage's choices which Shizuka approved. Thankfully, again, they weren't very girly. There were a few blouses and feminine shirts. There was also one skirt (which Chikage tried hard to persuade her to buy), but the rest were pants and shorts, none of which were the very short kind. The colors ranged from both light and dark shades of blue, red, green, a few orange and purple, etc. But there was no pink to be found.

After the clothes were the hygiene products. Upon entering the store, Shizuka was shocked when she saw all the shelves dedicated to feminine hygiene products. There were about ten different brands of the same product and about a dozen or so variations of that. Didn't women get confused with all these things? Good thing Chikage was there to help her, or else she would have just run off and gone home. The woman tried to teach her though, so that next time she could buy all the things she needed on her own. Shizuka just nodded and smiled, even though deep inside, she was thinking how she would be able to pull off shopping for these kinds of products alone, since she was sure Kaito and Heiji wouldn't be willing to help.

She thought they were done already, but she was dragged to one final store. One sweep of the inside of the store (actually she managed just halfway) and she immediately felt goosebumps on her skin. If shopping for feminine hygiene products made her want to run off and go home, being in this store made her want to run off, go home, and mourn for the loss of her manhood.

Yes, the last thing on their list was underwear.

While Shizuka stood there, blushing and avoiding looking around the store, Chikage was talking to a saleslady. Meanwhile, Heiji, Kaito, and the shopping bags they were made to carry were nowhere to be seen.

'_Probably somewhere outside. Lucky them,_' she thought and pouted.

It was then that Chikage and the saleslady approached her. The latter wore a smile that was ever-present in salespeople. She was talking about something like size, measuring something, style, and so on and so forth. Shizuka didn't really understand anything that was said but once again, Chikage helped her out. She continued her discussion with the saleslady who nodded, asked a few questions as well, and left to go get something.

She returned with a tape measure and stood in front of Shizuka, whom she then asked to raise her arms. She did as was told and the saleslady looped the tape measure around her back, brought one end to the front, and moved the other end, the tape measure brushing against her chest.

At this, Shizuka jerked away. She then saw the surprised looks on the two women's faces.

'_What are they surprised for? Don't tell me this kind of thing is normal for girls!_' she thought, embarrassed and nervous.

"I'm sorry," Chikage said apologetically. "It's just that, she's a late bloomer and this is her first time buying a bra. So she's not used to these kinds of things."

'_Oh. So it _is _normal. Women are much weirder than I thought_,' Shizuka thought, now confused.

At the explanation, the saleslady nodded and the smile on her face returned. She looked at Shizuka who smiled embarrassedly. With that, the saleslady continued with her job, this time earning no protest from the teen even though she still felt quite embarrassed.

* * *

><p>When everything was done, they finally got to return to the Kuroba household, to the relief of the three teens. It was nearing dinnertime when they arrived so Chikage headed to the kitchen to prepare something. Meanwhile, Heiji and Kaito dumped the shopping bags on the floor of the living room and stayed there with Shizuka.<p>

After a few moments of silence, Heiji spoke up, though he seemed to be hesitating a bit. "Ku- Shizuka, can we talk ta ya' 'bout somethin'?" he asked.

Shizuka looked at him and thought about what to reply. Honestly, she felt quite tired after everything that happened today, and wanted nothing more than to eat and sleep. But this could be quite important so she replied, "Sure. What is it about?"

Kaito immediately got down to business. "Hattori and I were wondering. Have you thought of a background story for yourself yet?"

"Ah. Actually, no, I haven't thought about it yet," she answered honestly.

Kaito nodded and looked at Heiji, who nodded as well, though after another moment's hesitation. Apparently, they had been thinking of a few possible background stories for 'Kaede Shizuka'. They gave out their suggestions, with the girl agreeing or disagreeing with the points they made.

They remained talking like this for some time, putting together the ideas that would make the most plausible story. After a few minutes, Kaito retold the finished story.

"You're Kaede Shizuka, a family friend of ours. You've been living abroad with your parents but they decided to settle down at Japan. They still had a few matters to finish so they sent you here first. Since your family doesn't have a permanent place to stay at yet, you'll be staying with us for the meantime. This is already fine, right?" Kaito asked.

Shizuka nodded but clarified something first, "But about that last part, about staying with your family for the meantime? Is that really alright?"

"Yep. It was Mom who suggested it actually."

She thought about this first. It seemed like a pretty good idea, especially since it'd be easier for the three of them to meet up and discuss their plans if ever they obtained any clue on returning her to normal. Also, she thought that living with Kaito and his mom was much better than living with Professor Agasa, not that she had anything against the professor, of course. It was just his inventions' explosions from time to time that worried her.

She suddenly remembered the person she lived with the last time she got transformed: Ran. She couldn't help but feel guilty. Once again, 'Shinichi' would have to suddenly leave her without giving any satisfactory reason. But to Shizuka, it was better than dragging her into the whole mess that was her life.

Her complicated thoughts must have been projected on her face because Heiji suddenly asked, "Ku- Shizuka, ya' alright?"

This brought her out of her concentration. She then replied, "Ah. Yeah, I'm alright."

"So, you're ok now with staying with us for the meantime?" Kaito asked.

"Yes," she replied, but thought to herself that she'd try to find her own place as soon as she could so that she wouldn't be much of a bother to the Kuroba family.

"Now that that part's cleared up, how 'bout 'Kudou's' story?" Heiji asked.

"We can just say that he's on a very important case. Or that his parents dragged him off to America," Kaito suggested.

"What 'bout Mouri-han? What are we gonna tell her?" Heiji wondered and looked at Shizuka. Kaito followed his gaze and looked at her too.

She had been thinking about this awhile ago, and though she had already decided about what to do regarding Ran, she still hesitated with what she was going to say. "I..think it'd be better..if I don't tell her the truth."

"Why?" came the chorused reply.

"For the same reason I didn't tell her anything when I became Conan: because I don't want to get her involved and get hurt," she said with a somewhat helpless smile. The boys silently agreed at this, but said nothing.

"Then who else do ya' think should know 'bout this?" Heiji asked.

She thought for a moment and counted off her fingers as she said the names, "Mom and Dad, of course. As well as Professor Agasa." There was a moment's pause and she blurted out, sounding a bit excited, "Haibara!"

This sudden exclamation surprised her two companions, but she paid them no mind and continued talking. "Haibara! She might be able to help me return to normal!" she said, the excitement now very obvious from her expression and voice.

Heiji beamed at this. He felt glad that they immediately came upon a possible option to help return Shizuka to normal. "You're right! This is great!" he said, now excited as well.

"It is, isn't it? Right, Kaito?" She was beaming as well when she turned to the thief, who just gave her a grin..that didn't feel right. This puzzled her and caused her smile to falter. What was wrong? Did Kaito not feel happy for her? '_I thought he wanted me to be more determined to get my old body back_,' she thought, now confused as to what she was supposed to feel.

It was then that Chikage reappeared in the living room. "Now what is all this excitement about?" she asked.

They explained to her what they had talked about, especially the one about Haibara possibly being able to help Shizuka. At this, she smiled and said, facing Shizuka, "I'm so happy for you, Shizuka-chan! I hope this will work out well."

"I hope so too," came the reply.

"But all those clothes we bought would've been a waste then," Chikage said, sounding a bit disappointed. "Are you sure you couldn't not return to normal for some more time?"

"Uhh," was what Shizuka managed to say. Because really, how was she supposed to reply to something like that?

"Don't worry. I'm just kidding," Chikage said and chuckled. "Now this Haibara-san, you want to visit her, yes?" She got a nod in response. "Well then, since it's getting pretty late already, why don't you postpone your visit for until tomorrow?"

After thinking for a moment, Shizuka nodded and agreed. At this, Chikage then suggested that they eat dinner before the food got cold.

* * *

><p>Dinner was uneventful compared to brunch. There was still small talk though, with Chikage persuading Heiji to stay for the night, to which he eventually agreed.<p>

After eating, they decided to rest already since it had been a pretty long day. Shizuka was to sleep in Kaito's room for that night, while Kaito and Heiji would be sharing the guest room. She tried to argue that she would be alright with the guest room, but Chikage said that she'll only have that room once they were able to prepare it more properly. And besides, would she want to spend the night in the same room as Heiji, who was her friend but still a guy friend, at the state that she was in right now? She didn't want to think about the awkwardness that would bring so she just conceded to the woman's wishes.

Shizuka had already changed into a pair of her newly-bought pajamas awhile ago and now she was lying on Kaito's bed, her face turned to one side. She had been like this for quite some time. Today had been a long day indeed and she knew that she should be extremely tired, but for some reason she couldn't sleep at all. Was it because of the million thoughts currently running through her head?

She thought about Ran, and how she would possibly feel if she was told that 'Shinichi' had gone away again. She also thought about how her parents would react when they found out about this. Her mom would probably be delighted at the prospect of a 'daughter' while her dad would probably be.. Honestly she didn't know, and she didn't want to know yet, especially if he would just be disappointed in her.

And most importantly, she thought about meeting Haibara tomorrow. She was really excited at the possibility that she could help her, but what was it with Kaito and his reaction earlier? Was he indeed not happy about this possible development? Then what did he want to happen?

She fell into an uneasy sleep after that, her thoughts still plaguing her.

* * *

><p>Some time later, she opened her eyes and looked at her surroundings which were now dark. She didn't remember turning off the lights so someone, Chikage possibly, must have entered the room and turned them off for her. As she sat up, she then felt a dull, throbbing pain in her lower abdomen. She winced at this and put a hand on the aching body part, as if thinking that doing so would help ease the pain somehow.<p>

'_Stupid..was what it called? Cramps? The thing that goes with having a period? Oh God, that p-word_,' she thought miserably, the gravity of being a girl once again hitting her in the face.

She tried to think of the remedies for cramps that Chikage told her awhile ago, but nothing came to mind. So she just stayed there in bed, in fetal position, and hoped that the pain would go away.

After a few minutes, the pain seemed to have lessened and she felt relieved at this, thinking that she could finally return to sleep. Just as her eyelids were slowly drooping, she heard a sudden flapping noise that made her sit up almost immediately. She looked at what seemed to be the source of the sound, which was the window. She had a vague idea of who could be behind this.

She stomped to the window, irritated at the distraction. She mumbled, "Kaito, if this is your idea of a joke in the middle of the night then I'll-"

But whatever it was that she was going to do, she never finished saying. Because at that moment, she had thrown open the window and saw a dove perched on the window ledge. It was looking at her curiously and stuck out a leg to which a note was tied. When she retrieved the note, the bird flew away.

She closed the window and read the note, which said:

_Sorry.  
>I just hope everything will be fine tomorrow.<em>

She couldn't help but smile a little. So he noticed that his reaction earlier bothered her. Or he could be pertaining to her sudden gender-change which was because they made her wear that disguise. Whatever it was that he meant, she felt somewhat touched at the note. Indeed, hopefully, everything would be fine tomorrow.

She folded the note and placed it on top of Kaito's desk, using a random book there as a paperweight.

With that, she fell into a more comfortable sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>After much deliberation, I finally decided to include Haibara in the story. In my original story, she didn't make an appearance, nor was she even mentioned. I thought about doing the same thing here, but I figured that there would be much more questions and complications if she wasn't in it. So yeah. Hehe.

Why is it that whenever I write something that I feel is funny, it doesn't feel funny anymore when I re-read it? Or it was just my imagination that I had a sense of humor? D: Anyway, I hope that you guys still enjoyed this chapter!

BTW. I've been trying to make them somehow more in-character, but I think I'm not very successful at that. I've been hinting a few bits about their real character (as far as I understand them) but I'm not sure if it's very..noticeable. Hmm.

_Kaida-14Kage: Thank you again for the review! :D Ah, yes, the wig. It's good that it wasn't actually very obvious. Hehe. Hmm. I'm not exactly sure if it was as painful as being shrunk, but I guess it was painful nonetheless. After all, as a girl his frame became smaller so there must have been shrinking of bones and whatnot. Also, he lost something and gained something in return (Hehe). And his insides must be confused now because of the sudden change in levels of hormones and such. (And this is where I shall stop trying to sound like an expert on the subject. XD) I'm glad that you liked that ending! Hehe. And so, the torture of Shinichi continues in this chapter. XD_

_K.K: I'm glad you thought so! I thought my attempt at humor in that chapter was a failure. :'D Thanks for the review!_

_Aniki-xvi: Aww. Thank you! I'm glad that there are actually people anticipating for the chapters to come. So here's an update! Hope you enjoyed it. ^^_

So.. Currently working on the next chapter already. It might take me a bit longer to finish it though, since I'm having additional ideas for the story that weren't in the original version. I'm still in the process of figuring out how to put them together. Hehe.

Please review! :)


	4. Confrontations

**Author's Notes: **Finally done with this chapter! I'm sorry it took so long. TT^TT I kept getting distracted whenever I sat down and attempted writing. And so I shall now try to write using pen and paper more often because it means less distractions for me and for some reason, I get more ideas in writing. :D

Warnings: Female Shinichi, _shounen ai_, AU I think, and OOC-ness.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan in any way.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Four: Confrontations<strong>

The following morning, the three teens immediately set out to visit Ai who was still staying with Professor Agasa. Shizuka and Heiji were talking excitedly as they headed to the professor's house, while Kaito remained pensive and seemed to be thinking deeply about something.

When they arrived and introduced 'Shizuka', both Agasa and even Ai were greatly surprised, though the latter tried to hide it at which she failed. Shizuka and Heiji immediately talked to them regarding their purpose for visiting, which was to ask Ai to create an antidote.

"Sorry, but I can't help you," came the unexpected reply.

"But WHY?" Shizuka asked, surprised at the answer. She was really hoping Ai would be able to help her.

"The drug my parents and I had been working on is different from the one you've just been given. Most probably it was made by a new biochemist working for them. Because this is a new drug, I don't have anything to work on."

At this, Shizuka sank on a chair, feeling dejected. This is exactly why she didn't want to be too excited; the disappointment she'd feel afterwards would be equally proportional, or perhaps even greater, to her initial excitement.

Heiji sat beside her, at a loss on what to say because he too felt disappointed. Meanwhile, Kaito remained silent, though he was looking at Shizuka intently.

Ai sighed and spoke up once again. "Seriously, Kudou-kun, you drink the only antidote we have but then you go and get poisoned by a whole new drug."

"Haibara-han," Heiji said sternly. "Please, just..stop it, alright?"

She just shrugged and walked towards her room.

Agasa then spoke up next, "Shinichi, I'm sorry about Ai-kun's response, but you know how she is. Deep down she's worried about you too."

Shizuka gave a small, sad smile and said, "I know. But I also know that she's disappointed with what happened to me. After all, she's right. It was indeed stupid of me to have myself transformed again when I just returned to my old body."

"Come ta think of it, why didn't she make an antidote fer herself?" Heiji asked, curious.

"She only had enough to make one. And she said that..somehow, she now feels more comfortable as a kid, so she doesn't plan on getting her old body back anytime in the future."

"Really? Somehow, that doesn't sound like somethin' that little nee-chan would say," Heiji said and just shrugged.

After a few minutes of silence, Agasa spoke up once again, "So Shinichi, what are you planning to do now?"

"It's 'Shizuka' now, professor," she corrected, giving a somewhat helpless smile. "And in answer to your question, well, first I have to tell Mom and Dad. As for trying to return my body to normal, for now the only option we have is getting the antidote from the Black Organization."

At this, the expressions of her three companions hardened. There was now another thing to add to the things they had to accomplish. It would be difficult, but they'll manage, hopefully.

Shizuka noticed their sudden serious expressions, and said apologetically, as if reading their minds, "I'm sorry. I made everything more complicated for everyone, didn't I?"

This surprised the rest, even the professor. Where did this sudden..humility come from? The Shinichi they knew would probably never say such things easily; he was too proud to admit if ever he was inconveniencing people, though his big ego had somewhat deflated after becoming Conan for a few years. Was this a side effect of turning into a girl?

Heiji then put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry," he said. "None of this is your fault, alright? Anyway, we'll manage, as long as we all work together. Just don't give up, Kud- I mean, Shizuka!"

With this remark, Kaito and Agasa just nodded, as if saying that they agree with the Kansai detective. At this, the boy-turned-girl felt grateful that despite everything that happened, she still had her friends behind her.

She smiled and was about to reply when she was interrupted by a chorus of loud voices from outside calling out, "Professor!"

The three teens turned to look at Agasa. "Hakase, you didn't mention that the kids would be coming," Shizuka said.

The professor just shrugged and replied, "I didn't know either. Maybe they wanted a surprise visit. Excuse me for a moment." He then stood up and walked towards his front door to let the kids in.

"Oi, Ku- Shizuka," Heiji said in a low voice, but still loud enough for Kaito to hear. "Should we still be here?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, do ya' want those kid friends of yours ta meet ya' as is right now?"

Come to think of it, she didn't want them to meet her like this so soon. However, just as she was about to suggest that they leave already, a familiar female child's voice stopped her.

"Ah! Professor, you have guests over!" Ayumi said as she entered the living room. Just behind her were Mitsuhiko, Genta, and Agasa.

"Look," Genta said and pointed. "It's Heiji-oniisan and Shinichi-oniisan! With someone else I don't know.." He said the last part with a confused expression on his face.

"Genta-kun! It's rude to point, you know," Ayumi reprimanded her large friend, who just scratched his head sheepishly.

"Your friend's right," Kaito said to Genta, and started walking towards the kids. "Unfortunately," he continued, "You got another thing wrong, Genta-kun. I'm not Kudou; the name's Kuroba Kaito." With that, he went down on one knee so that he was on level with them, and gave Ayumi a yellow rose that he produced out of thin air. "For the little lady," he said with a smile.

"Wow!" was all she could exclaim, obviously in awe of the simple magic trick done. Mitsuhiko and Genta were amazed too, but they just said nothing. Meanwhile, Ayumi blushed as she accepted the rose and said a small "Thank you".

"No problem," came the thief's reply as he sat down again, this time on the other side of Shizuka on the couch she was sitting on.

The three kids followed and sat on a couch across them. Meanwhile, the professor disappeared for a while to get refreshments.

* * *

><p>Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta introduced themselves individually and mentioned afterwards that they were the <em>Shounen Tantei Dan<em>. In turn, Shizuka introduced herself as well, and Kaito repeated his introduction, this time with a shower of confetti. This earned him an applause from the kids while his friends just shook their heads.

"Kaito-oniisan, you're a magician, aren't you?" Genta asked. When he got a nod in reply, he continued, "That's so cool!"

"Can you please show us a few more magic tricks?" Mitsuhiko requested, at which Ayumi and Genta nodded their heads excitedly.

Of course, Kaito happily obliged. He performed only basic sleight-of-the-hand tricks though, but despite this, the trio of kids proved to be an audience that was easy to please. The whole show just made Shizuka and Heiji smile in amusement.

By the time Agasa returned with a tray of drinks and snacks, the floor was littered with confetti, playing cards, other magic paraphernelia, and an occasional dove perched here and there. He almost dropped the tray that he was carrying at the sight of his living room.

Kaito, noticing that the professor had returned and seeing the look on his face, said with a grin, "Don't worry, Hakase. I'll clean this up."

One by one, more doves appeared until almost the entire room was covered with them. With a snap of Kaito's fingers and a burst of smoke, the doves disappeared, as well as the mess his earlier tricks made.

Almost immediately, the kids once again cheered and expressed their amazement, while Kaito was bowing and saying "Thank you" to his appreciative audience.

Agasa sighed in relief and set down his tray of refreshments, now that there actually was space to place them. "Thank you, Kaito-kun. But in the first place, please don't make such a mess again, alright?" he requested of the thief.

Kaito seemed to think this over for a minute, before replying with a mischievous grin, "I'll try, Hakase."

"Well then. Help yourself everyone," the professor said, referring to the refreshments he just brought. Genta immediately grabbed a handful of biscuits offered, while the others opted for getting one or two pieces only.

"Nee, Kaito-oniisan. Why do you look so much like Shinichi-oniisan? Are you two related?" Ayumi asked, in between her bites.

"I don't know why we look alike, actually, but I'm sure we're not related. Our parents are friends though," came the reply.

"You're also friends, aren't you? You and Shinichi-san, I mean," Mitsuhiko said.

"Yep."

"We're all friends, actually," Heiji piped up.

"Even Shizuka-san?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"Of course. Why, she can't be friends with us?"

"We don't mean that," Ayumi said and beamed. "It's just that Shizuka-oneesan is so pretty. Shizuka-oneesan, are you sure you're not Kaito-oniisan's girlfriend?"

At this, the three teens choked on what little biscuits they were eating. It didn't help when Mitsuhiko even added, "No way. She must be Heiji-san's girlfriend!"

The two continued arguing, not noticing that the people sitting across them were silent and blushing. On the other hand, Agasa sighed, unsure of what he could say to get the teens out of the situation, while Genta continued eating.

"Well, Shizuka-oneesan/Shizuka-san?" Ayumi and Mitsuhiko chorused, looking at the person in question, waiting for her to answer them.

She hesitated for a moment before replying, "Um. No, neither. I'm just a friend of theirs."

"Aw," came the reply. They looked pretty disappointed, which puzzled her.

* * *

><p>Small talk ensued, this time the teens trying to stay away from topics regarding the three of them. After some time, Kaito stood up from his seat. "Well, Hakase," he said. "We better get going now, so that you can attend to your other guests."<p>

Shizuka stood up as well and added, "Yeah. Thank you for your time. You coming, Heiji?"

"Uh. Nah. I'll stay fer a while," came the reply.

"Oh. Alright. Please say goodbye to Haibara-san for me, Hakase. See you, Ayumi-chan, Mitsuhiko-kun, Genta-kun," she said and waved to the others, who waved in return. With that, they left the professor's house.

* * *

><p>The pair walked in silence, seemingly with no real destination. Shizuka seemed deep in thought while Kaito kept looking at her. They continued like this until Kaito grabbed her wrist and led her away. "Where are we going?" she asked in surprise.<p>

"You'll see," he replied with a grin.

He said nothing more, but for some reason, she couldn't argue with him.

A little while later, she found herself seated at a shop in the nearby mall. Just as she was about to look around, the thief reappeared and sat on the seat across her, handing her a cup with a couple scoops of ice cream. She just looked at him, unsure whether she should accept it or not, but he insisted, so she took the cup and said a small "Thank you".

"No problem," he grinned, as he dug onto his own chocolate frozen treat.

She did the same and she couldn't help but sigh in contentment after eating just the first bite.

They continued eating in silence until both cups were empty. Shizuka then leaned back on her chair with a satisfied expression. At this, Kaito couldn't help but grin. "Happy?" he asked.

"Very," she replied, a lazy smile on her face.

He couldn't help but chuckle at that. "That's good," he said. "Ice cream makes everything better, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Kaito!" she replied with a smile.

For a moment, the thief's heart skipped a bit, and he was confused as to the reason why. He looked away from his companion, who happened to do the same.

It was then that Shizuka got a good look around the place they were in, which was actually an ice cream parlor. She saw a few families with their small children enjoying their own treats. There were also a few groups of teens around the same age as them, chatting happily. She couldn't help but wonder how her life would be like if it was as normal as those teens she saw.

'_I'd probably still be a guy, first of all,_' she thought and sighed.

This didn't escape Kaito's notice, who then asked, "What's up?"

"I was just thinking how life would be like if it was normal. You know, without having to investigate crime scenes, if you didn't have to go out on heists as KID, or if the Black Organization didn't exist at all."

He thought about this for a moment, and replied, "Well, it'd probably be great. But then again, it's all that happened in your life that shaped you into who you are right now, right?"

"Which is a girl."

"I didn't mean that," Kaito said, furrowing his eyebrows. He didn't mean to offend her.

Shizuka chuckled at her friend's reaction and said, "Don't worry, I understand what you meant. And yeah, you're right. If my life were different, I wouldn't be Kudo Shinichi - or at present time's case, Kaede Shizuka - at all."

The thief nodded and after a few moments, he asked, "So.. What do you want to do now? Is there some place you want to go to, or something?"

"Hmm."

* * *

><p>"Shin-chan!" came the greeting followed by a tackle-slash-hug once she opened the door.<p>

After eating ice cream with Kaito, Shizuka decided that it would be better if they returned home for the time being. She still had to find a way to break it to her parents that Shinichi was now Shizuka. She thought she'd have some time to think it over, but she didn't expect them to be lying in wait for her at the Kuroba household.

"M-mom?" she asked, surprised.

Kudou Yukiko then released her hold on her child and smiled. Like Chikage, she was a woman who looked young. Even after retiring at such an early age because of having a child, she still retained her beauty and grace, some of her greatest assets when she was still an actress.

She looked at the teen in front of her, appraising her appearance, before engulfing said teen in another back-breaking hug. "Shin-chan!" she exclaimed once again. "You're so pretty! You definitely take after me."

At this, Shizuka sweatdropped. "Mom, I don't think..that's the right thing to say in this kind of situation," she said.

"I'm just looking at the positive side of things," Yukiko chirped then faced her husband. "Right, Yuusaku? Doesn't she take after me?"

This time, Shizuka suddenly found the floor interesting to look at. She wasn't sure if she was prepared in case she saw disappointment in her father's eyes. She chanced a glance though, and was caught off-guard at the..was it really worry and..understanding that she saw in those normally serious eyes?

The emotions disappeared almost as instantly as they flashed across Kudou Yuusaku's face, which made Shizuka wonder whether she really did see them or it was just her imagination.

She was brought out of her musings when Chikage appeared and spoke, now noticing the small crowd at the house's entrance, "Oh. Looks like you've now seen each other. Why don't the three of you resume talking in the living room?"

* * *

><p>A few moments later, we find the Kudou family indeed seated in the living room. Chikage and Kaito opted to let them talk on their own.<p>

It was then that Shizuka found out what her parents were doing in the Kuroba household and why they already knew about her predicament. Apparently, they had just arrived from America that morning. Upon returning home, however, and seeing that their son Shinichi wasn't there, they decided to visit the Kuroba's, who happened to be their friend, since they knew that their sons Kaito and Shinichi were friends as well. When they arrived, they were told that the two had left that morning along with their other friend Heiji. It was also then that Chikage decided to tell them about 'Shizuka'.

After this, silence prevailed in the room for a while, mainly because Shizuka was unsure on how to respond and also because she was waiting for her parents to speak up about her situation first.

This was granted when Yukiko spoke up once again. "Shin-chan," she said, this time in a serious but also affectionate manner. She smiled and continued, "You don't have to worry about anything. Your father and I will always be right behind you, right Yuusaku?" She turned to her husband who gave a small smile and nodded.

Shizuka couldn't help but feel relieved. She had been dreading talking to her parents about _this_, but it looks like there was no need to worry after all. She gave a grateful smile and said, "Thanks, Mom, Dad."

"Now," Yukiko stood up from her seat and moved towards the teen, putting her hands together and looking like she was planning something Shizuka was sure she wouldn't like.

True enough, she was dragged outside by her mother who said they were off to have some 'mother-daughter' bonding time. Yuusaku, who was left behind, just sighed and shook his head.

* * *

><p>By the time they returned, with a few shopping bags even, Heiji had also arrived and dinner was all ready.<p>

"Oh, you're back," Chikage greeted. Noticing what they were carrying, she asked, "You went shopping?"

"A bit," Yukiko chirped. "But most were just my old clothes that I thought Shizuka-chan would like."

Chikage looked at the teen and saw from her expression that she didn't like her mother's selections. The woman couldn't help but feel a bit amused at this though and just continued, "Well then, let's just drop off the bags in the living room and proceed with dinner, alright?"

* * *

><p>After eating, Yukiko and Yuusaku were about to go their way. But before that, the latter requested that he talk a bit with Shizuka first. So they went outside for the moment.<p>

For some reason, Shizuka once again found herself nervous in the presence of her father. Was he now going to tell her his disappointment which he couldn't say in front of her mother awhile ago?

These thoughts bothered her so much that she didn't notice Yuusaku had stepped closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Shinichi?" he asked, sounding concerned.

She flinched at the sudden touch, and he didn't fail to notice this. "I'm sorry," he continued. "It's 'Shizuka' now, isn't it?"

She nodded but still said nothing. At this, Yuusaku sighed and said, "You've changed, Shinichi." This seemed to have caught the teen's attention so he continued, "You're..less outspoken now, in a good way of course. And now you've got more friends. I'm glad."

At this, he looked at her intently, satisfied that he now had her full attention. He continued speaking in a somewhat gentle manner, "But you know what will never change? That Yukiko and I will always be your parents, and that you will always be our child, whether you're Shinichi or Shizuka. So you don't have to worry about us not accepting whatever condition you're in, alright?"

Almost immediately, Shizuka threw her arms around her father and hugged him. This surprised Yuusaku, but he just smiled and put a hand on her head.

After a while, she let go, looking embarrassed. Yuusaku didn't help by teasing her, "How long have you been a girl again?"

"Shut up, Dad," she replied, blushing. "Besides, look who's talking. You're suddenly all sappy as well."

He just shrugged and said, "Your mother must be rubbing off on me a little too much these days."

At this, both of them laughed. And now that the tension between them that Shizuka felt was gone, they decided that it was time to call it a night, also so that her mom and dad could already take their leave. So they did, but not before Yukiko promised that she'll stop by from time to time to have some quality time with her 'daughter'. Shizuka just said yes even though deep down, she didn't want a repeat of her earlier shopping experience. With that, the couple were off.

* * *

><p>Back inside, everyone was ready to head to sleep. Shizuka was once again staying in Kaito's room because Heiji was staying over for another night so he and Kaito had the guest room.<p>

She had just finished changing and getting ready for bed when there was a knock on the door. Curious as to who it could be, she said, "Come in."

Heiji entered the room and closed the door behind him gently. He stood there, hesitating a bit, and sat down when Shizuka motioned for him to sit beside her on the bed.

"What's up, Heiji?" she asked.

"Nothin' much. How 'bout ya'?" he asked in return.

"Nothing much as well, but as you learned awhile ago, apparently my parents already know."

"And they're alright with it?"

"Yes. They were both very accepting. But that doesn't mean I'm giving up on returning to my original body though."

At this, Heiji grinned and she didn't fail to notice this. "Why the look? Do you know something about returning to normal that I don't?" she asked, this time sounding eager.

If possible, his grin grew even larger as he said, "Sorta'. I managed ta persuade that little nee-chan ta try an' make an antidote. She's not makin' any promises, but she said she'll try."

At that moment, there was nothing on Shizuka's mind, save for the urge to hug and kiss her friend out of gratefulness. She did end up doing the former, and it took her a while to realize what she had done before she let go, blushing. Meanwhile, the other teen's expression was not quite far off from hers, though he looked quite shocked as well.

After a few moments of awkward silence, she managed to say, still blushing, "Um. Thanks, Heiji. And..sorry about that."

"D-don't worry 'bout it," he replied, also blushing, and gave a nervous laugh as he stood up. "W-well then, that was all I wanted ta say. Uh. G'night, Ku- Shizuka."

"..good night, Heiji."

Once he closed the door after leaving the room, Shizuka groaned into a pillow in frustration. After that, she just lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"What on earth is happening to me?" she asked no one in particular, her cheeks still feeling hot from her action and thoughts earlier.

Little did she know, the same problem was plaguing the Kansai detective who, at that moment, was still outside her door.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>So how did you guys like it? Ai made such a short appearance. Sorry about that. Hehe. And I wonder if Kaito's last magic trick sounded familiar to anybody. Hehe.

The teasing and the ice cream were ideas that were already in my head, but I just didn't know what to write in between. Gah. I have to work on this since it's my current number one problem in writing. D:

_mimimini: Aww. Thank you for saying that! And also for reviewing. :D_

_Kaida-14Kage: It took me quite some time to figure out whether to make Ai helpful or just make her torture Shinichi more. Then I decided, why not both? Hehe. Not much torturing of Shinichi in this, but perhaps in the chapters to come. Muhaha. XD Thanks for the review and sorry if the update took so long!_

Currently working on the next chapter. I hope I get to finish it soon. I guess this means less time on my laptop. Hehe.

Thanks to those who added me on their alerts! Please review! :) And Happy Thanksgiving to everyone (for tomorrow)! :D


	5. Dreams

**Author's Notes: **I'm sorry I took so long again! TT^TT I promised myself I'll at least try and post this chapter before my birthday. And I did! I still had a day to spare. Haha. XD Anyway, onwards to this chapter! :D

Warnings: Female Shinichi, _shounen ai_, AU I think, and OOC-ness.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan in any way.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Five: Dreams<strong>

"I got it!" Shizuka exclaimed.

"Got what?" Kaito asked, puzzled at her excitement.

It had been a few days since 'Shizuka' appeared and started staying at the Kuroba household. After fixing the guest room properly and moving what little things she had, she was now staying there and Kaito had regained the ownership of his room.

Nothing eventful had really happened, unless you counted the times they visited Ai to ask her how the antidote was coming along, at which she would snap at them that she still hadn't figured out what the drug contained, much less the components of the antidote. After a few visits, the last of which resulting in the little scientist kicking the teens out of the professor's house, they decided to let her be and just come back at the moment it was most probable that she wouldn't be too pissed off.

So one afternoon, the two teens were once again in Kaito's room. The days that passed by were too boring for their liking since there were no crime scenes that needed to be solved and Kaito hadn't planned any heists. But apparently, Shizuka had somewhat exciting news.

"I got a job!" she exclaimed, sounding cheerful.

"You got a job? Since when?" Kaito asked, quite surprised.

"Just a while ago. Heiji and I left after lunch, right? We went to the mall and remember the ice cream shop we ate at before? Actually, it wasn't just an ice cream shop. They served other food and drinks too. And apparently, they had an opening so I spoke to the manager and after a short interview, eventually got hired!"

"Wow," he replied, still quite in awe. "Don't you need papers to get a job though?"

"Ah. That," Shizuka scratched her cheek, looking a bit hesitant. "Well, they said they needed people immediately so the manager said I could just follow-up my papers when I start."

"But you don't have any papers. Well, none as Shizuka."

"Exactly."

A short pause, and then, "You want me to help you in coming up with papers for you." It was a statement and not a question, which meant that Kaito now understood where the conversation was going.

"Yeah.." came her reply. She then put her hands together and asked in her most convincing tone, "Please, Kaito?"

"S-sure, whatever.." he said and looked away. She didn't realize that she made the infamous puppy-dog's-eyes look and truthfully, that was what got him to agree. But she didn't have to know that. "So when are you starting?" he asked.

"In a couple of days. I'll be given my uniform on the day itself."

"You're gonna be a waitress?"

"Yeah. Uh. Is that weird?" Shizuka asked, now seeming a bit unsure whether she got an appropriate job or not.

"Not really," he replied with a straight face. But suddenly, images of Shizuka wearing a uniform composed of a tight-fitting top and a short skirt suddenly popped into his mind. He immediately shook his head to clear it of such weird thoughts.

"What's wrong, Kaito?" she asked, sounding a bit worried.

"Don't worry, it's noth- _What are you doing!_" His assurance was cut short when he noticed that his companion was slowly making her way towards him, an unreadable expression on her face. Somehow, Kaito was new to this kind of..development..so he just sat there and stared until Shizuka was practically sitting on his lap.

At this, he finally noticed how close they were, especially their faces. He could already hear her breathing and couldn't help but notice the steady rise and fall of her chest.

He looked at her face again, now only a few inches from his, and was puzzled as she still looked quite expressionless despite her actions. Then slowly, Shizuka moved her face closer to the thief's, who couldn't help but blush at their closeness. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to move away though. And so he waited, minute by painful minute, for the gap between their lips to close. Until finally..

* * *

><p>"WAH!"<p>

Shizuka sat up in bed with a start, breathing hard and sweating a little. She put a hand on her chest, feeling like it was about to explode. One by one, she took slow, deep breaths as she closed her eyes. Just when she deemed herself calm enough already, she suddenly remembered her dream and once again, she could feel her heart thumping loudly in her chest.

She felt her face go hot and buried it in her hands. '_What's going on?_' she thought nervously. '_Why am I having such weird dreams? Not to mention, it was like I was acting from Kaito's point-of-view._'

She thought about this for a moment. "Don't tell me..that's how he thinks towards me..?" she asked out loud, a horrified look on her face. Despite this sudden thought, she shook her head. "No, that can't be. He knows I was a guy originally, so of course he wouldn't think of such..perverted..thoughts towards me," she said, trying to convince herself. "That's right. There's no way Kaito can be attracted to me _that_ way, right?"

As she said this, there was a knock on her door. It slowly opened and she then heard the familiar voice of the other person in her dream earlier.

"Hey, Shizuka," Kaito said. "Mom said breakfast's rea- _Unf!_"

However, he was cut off when he suddenly got hit by a pillow in the face. And before he even had the time to recover, he was shoved out of the room and the door was slammed in his face.

From the inside, Shizuka was leaning on the door, her face extremely red, as she said, "I..I got it. I'll be downstairs for breakfast in a while."

Meanwhile, on the other side, Kaito just stood there, holding the pillow in one hand and staring at the door in front of him, thinking what the hell was going on.

* * *

><p>Breakfast was spent in awkwardness and silence. Chikage couldn't help but notice the tension between the two teens and looked back and forth between the two of them. When she couldn't take it anymore, she put down her bowl and chopsticks and asked, "Did something happen?"<p>

"Nothing, Auntie," came Shizuka's immediate reply. Meanwhile, Kaito remained silent.

The woman found this curious but said nothing as well. She looked at them again, and feeling that she wasn't going to get any clarification from either of them, she sighed. With that, she continued eating, silence once again prevailing in the room.

* * *

><p>After eating, Shizuka volunteered to help with the dishes, but Chikage said that it would be better if the two teens just stayed upstairs as they waited for Heiji to arrive. Shizuka tried to argue, to no avail. So now she and Kaito were in the latter's room.<p>

Kaito was sitting in front of his desk while Shizuka sat on the end of his bed that would put the most distance possible between the two of them. Once again, there was awkward silence between them, until it unnerved the thief so much that he decided to break it.

"Hey," he said. "Did I do something wrong?"

She remained silent, however. After a few minutes of waiting, he figured that she wasn't going to reply to his question soon, so he tried once again. "Hey, Shizuka. I'm being serious here," he said, this time with a hint of pleading in his voice.

At this, she finally looked at him, but with a bit of suspicion in her eyes. "Then answer this seriously," she said. "Do you.." She paused a bit before continuing her question, "Do you think..perverted..thoughts about women?"

Kaito was surprised at the question but replied anyway. "Well, sometimes, I guess," he said and shrugged. When he noticed the shocked expression on her face, he couldn't help but add, feeling a bit embarrassed, "But isn't that normal? For guys, I mean. Besides, you've been a guy too, Shizuka. Don't tell me such things never crossed your mind before."

Shizuka still looked quite surprised at his reply, but she also couldn't help but think about his question. She didn't remember whether such things indeed crossed her mind when she was a guy, and honestly, she didn't want to know if ever they did. So she just looked away before asking another question. "Then..do you think the same way..towards me?"

The thief's eyes widened at the question and he couldn't help but blush. He couldn't even answer properly, as if he suddenly got tongue-tied. "I.. Um.. Wait.. Uh?" was all he managed to get out.

Just hearing his answer, Shizuka already turned a lovely shade of pink herself. The fact that he couldn't even give a straight and coherent answer could possibly mean that he has had, in fact, thought of such things about her. At this realization, she looked at him sharply then eyed the pillow on the bed. He followed her gaze and felt a little scared. Surely being hit by a pillow wouldn't be _that_ bad, would it?

Or not.

"You. _PERVERT!_ How. Dare. You! You. Even. Know. I'm. A. Guy! For. God's. Sake!" Shizuka shouted, her face still pink from embarrassment. Each word was punctuated by a random body part of Kaito's getting hit by the pillow in her hands. He didn't say or do anything in protest though, but merely tried to shield himself, which further irritated the girl and thus she continued hitting him mercilessly.

Such was the sight when Heiji arrived.

"Uh. What's goin' on?" he asked, very confused.

Almost immediately, the pillow-hitting stopped and the two people involved in the act turned to look at the speaker. Shizuka put the pillow away and just when she was about to speak, Kaito stood up and hid behind the Kansai detective. "Hattori, help! She's gone crazy, I tell you," he whined in a childish tone.

This surprised Heiji and he turned to look at the teen hiding behind him. Shizuka also seemed surprised, though in a negative way. She stood up as well and retorted, pointing at the thief, "What are you talking about? _You're_ the one who's gone crazy! _You're_ the one who thinks of..of..evil and perverted stuff about me!" At the last part, she couldn't help but blush once again.

Heiji, caught in the middle of it all, couldn't help but sigh and asked again, "Seriously, what's goin' on?"

* * *

><p>Order returned in the room when the two got to explain their sides, with Kaito going first. When Shizuka finished hers, however, chaos almost erupted once again.<p>

"So that's what it was. It's not my fault you're having weird dreams about the two of us," Kaito said smugly.

"_Excuse me_. When I asked you _that_ question, you couldn't give a straight answer, which meant that I was correct. And so, that makes you a pervert for thinking that way towards a _guy_," Shizuka retorted.

"You don't look like a guy right now, do you?"

And so on and so forth. However, before they could even begin murdering each other, Heiji kindly intervened. Or more specifically, the argument just made his head hurt, so he wanted to put a stop to it already.

"That's it," he said firmly and loudly, enough that the two bickering teens stopped for a moment. When they remained silent and he was sure that he had their attention, he continued, "Ya' guys have got ta stop this arguin', alright? Why don't we settle this in a normal an' mature way?"

There was silence after what he said, and Heiji thought it was because the two were now reflecting on their actions.

"You're right," Shizuka said after some time. At this, the other two in the room looked at her. She turned to Heiji and continued, "You said we were going to look at a place you know, right? Let's go, Heiji." She then stood up and moved towards the door. Heiji looked puzzled but followed anyway, while it was Kaito's turn to be confused. "Wait, what do you mean? Where are you going?" he asked.

She stopped by the doorway and said, "To an apartment Heiji knows. Maybe I'll be moving one of these days."

With that, she left the room, with Heiji glancing at Kaito before following, and the thief staying there looking surprised and bothered.

* * *

><p>To Shizuka's dismay, Kaito still followed the two of them. She just ignored him though and just chatted with Heiji while walking towards their destination.<p>

After a short while, they arrived at a simple five-story building. Shizuka noticed that across it was a convenience store. As for the other buildings around it, there were a few different shops but most were still houses.

When they entered what they considered to be the lobby, she saw that the building looked quite spacious from the inside. On either side of the first floor were staircases. There were a few side tables with different ornaments and vases. Directly across the entrance was a desk with a woman behind it. On either side of the desk were two doors perhaps leading to rooms. Before Shizuka could look around a little more, they made their way to the desk.

The woman smiled upon seeing the visitors, but when her eyes landed on Heiji, her smile became even larger. "Oh, Hattori-kun! Back already?" she greeted in a friendly manner.

"Yep. An' these are my friends I told ya' 'bout before," he replied in an equally friendly but also polite tone.

Shizuka and Kaito looked at him, wondering why he seemed so familiar with the woman.

As if reading their thoughts, the woman smiled and held out her hand. "Hello! I'm Hotaru Tomoe, the landlady. Just call me Tomoe," she chirped. She was a pretty woman who had light brown hair in a low ponytail and kind, dark brown eyes. Shizuka thought she must be in her late 20s or early 30s since she looked quite young. She had an open and friendly aura that somehow made the teens feel at ease around her.

Kaito and Shizuka shook the offered hand and introduced themselves as well, but still looked quite confused. Noticing this, Tomoe asked, "Didn't Hattori-kun tell you that he's been staying here?"

"Eh?" came the chorused reply of disbelief, along with two looks sent to the Kansai detective who just scratched his head sheepishly.

"Is that true, Heiji? You've been staying here? Why didn't you tell us!" Shizuka asked.

"Well, ya' never asked," Heiji replied and shrugged. "An' besides, didn't ya' ever wonder how I could always meet up with ya' guys so easily? It's not like I always came all the way from Osaka, ya' know."

He did have a point, and it irritated Shizuka that the thought never crossed her mind.

Tomoe's voice brought her out of her musings when she said, "Well then. Now that that's all cleared up, Hattori-kun told me you were interested in looking at our rooms, Kaede-chan. Is that right?" She got a nod in response so she continued, "Lucky for you, we have one vacancy left. Would you like to see it now?" She got another nod in reply so she emerged from behind the desk and led the trio up the stairs.

As far as Shizuka could tell, each floor was the same, with five rooms next to each other in one long corridor that ended with staircases on both sides. The layout seemed simple enough which meant that she wouldn't have any problems with the place.

They ascended the right staircase and when they arrived at the third floor, they headed for the second room they encountered.

"Wow," Heiji said, looking quite pleased. "If ever ya' do get this unit, Ku- Shizuka, we'll be neighbors! I live in the unit we just passed, the one near the staircase."

"Really? That's cool!" she exclaimed, looking pretty happy as well and not noticing the not-that-amused look the thief was throwing in the two detectives' directions.

Tomoe fished out a set of keys from her pocket and inserted the right key into the door and opened it.

It was a studio-type apartment furnished with the necessary stuff. Upon entering, the kitchen and dining area were seen. There's the kitchen cabinets, counters, sink, stove, a table, and a couple of chairs. Moving forward, it was already the bedroom-slash-living-room. There was the bed, a few table tops, a dresser, and a sofa. To their left was a door which Shizuka assumed was the bathroom.

Overall, to her, the place looked decent enough. It was nowhere near as large as her parents' house but then again, she wasn't really planning on having too many stuff with her as 'Shizuka'. The location of the building seemed perfectly situated since there were a few stores around in case she would need anything. The neighborhood looked safe and Heiji would be her neighbor. And if he was right, the rent was pretty affordable. Awesome. There was just one problem though.

She had no money to pay for the rent. Yet.

She told Tomoe this and the woman thought for a moment before replying, "Hmm. Since you're a friend of Hattori-kun, I guess we could reserve the unit for you, but only for a short time. After that, if someone else is interested and has the money for it, I'm afraid we'll have to give it to them."

"That's alright," Shizuka replied. "I'll try to come up with the money as soon as possible. I'll just work hard at my job." She said the last part to herself but Kaito heard it clearly and sent her a surprised look which she didn't notice.

They returned downstairs and after a few more minutes, the two girls finalized their deal that the place would be reserved under Shizuka's name for one month only. With that, she and Kaito said their farewells and bounded for the Kuroba household.

* * *

><p>The walk was spent in silence at first, with the two of them on either side of the sidewalk. Shizuka still felt somehow awkward while Kaito kept on humming a nameless tune.<p>

When he did stop humming, she was already expecting the start of a conversation with him.

"So.. You're really serious about moving out?" he asked.

"..yes."

"Why?"

"Because..I don't want to be a burden to your family."

"Shizuka, you've never been, and you never will be a burden to Mom and me, got that?" he said. At this, he looked at her seriously. She met his gaze for a moment before looking away. Kaito continued, "Mom loves you like you're part of the family already."

At this, Shizuka couldn't help but smile. She knew that perfectly. In fact, she also considered the woman as her mother too. And it might be bit harsh to say this, but sometimes, she thought of Chikage as her mother more than Yukiko. Now it's not that she didn't love her own mom, she really did, but there was just something different about Chikage. It was like she was the perfect representation of a mother: kind, caring, patient, understanding, and supportive. Though she had a somewhat mischievous side to her, she was overall a loving parent. And this was what Shizuka learned from her in the short time she had been living with them. It was because of this that she came to love Chikage as her own mother, and it was for the same reason that she decided to move out.

Because really, she didn't want the people she cared for to become involved with her and get hurt anymore.

She didn't say any of this out loud, but she figured Kaito already knew what was on her mind.

After a few more minutes of silence, Kaito spoke up once again, "By the way, what's this job I hear that you now have?"

Shizuka was surprised at how he managed to find out. Initially, it was only her and Heiji who knew about it, though of course, she was planning on telling Kaito too. She was just was just waiting for the right time to tell him.

Noticing her surprise, he continued, "I heard you awhile ago, when you said that you'll come up with the money for rent as soon as possible, you also said that you'll do so by working hard at your job."

'_Ah. So that's how he found out,_' she thought. Well, he already knew anyway so might as well tell him everything.

"One time, Heiji and I went out after lunch, right? We went to the mall and remember the ice cream shop we ate at before? Actually, it wasn't just an ice cream shop. They served other food and drinks too. And apparently, they had an opening so I spoke to the manager and after a short interview, eventually got hired," she said.

"Wow," he replied. "Don't you need papers to get a job though?"

"Ah. That," she said, looking a bit hesitant. "Well, they said they needed people immediately so the manager said I could just follow-up my papers when I start."

"But you don't have any papers. Well, none as Shizuka."

"Exactly."

A short pause, and then, "You want me to help you in coming up with papers for you." It was a statement and not a question, which meant that Kaito now understood where the conversation was going.

"Yeah.." came her reply. She then put her hands together and asked in her most convincing tone, "Please, Kaito?"

"S-sure, whatever.." Kaito said and looked away, blushing. After composing himself, he asked, "So when are you starting?"

"In a couple of days. I'll be given my uniform on the day itself."

"You're gonna be a waitress?"

"Yeah. Uh. Is that weird?" Shizuka asked, feeling hesitant once again.

"Hmm. Not really, I guess," he replied after a moment's thinking.

After his reply, Shizuka suddenly stopped in her tracks which caused Kaito to stop too, wondering what was going on.

'_What the? Wasn't this the _exact _conversation that happened in my dream earlier today?_' she thought, thoroughly confused. And when she recalled the rest of the conversation in her dream (well it wasn't much of a conversation really), she turned to look at her companion with a horrified look on her face. However, he just gave her a puzzled look which she ignored.

"Y-you!" she pointed accusingly at the thief, her cheeks feeling hot.

"Me what?"

"Don't play dumb with me! I know you, you're thinking weird thoughts of me again, aren't you? Especially now that you know I'm gonna be a waitress in my job!" she all but screamed at him. Thankfully, there was nobody else on the street so there was nobody to look at the scene they were causing.

Kaito made a you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me face before he sighed and said in a tired manner, "Shizuka, it's not what you think."

But that wasn't enough for her as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and narrowed her eyes at him. She said sternly, "Then say what's on your mind right now."

She merely observed him as he closed his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows, as if in deep thought. He remained like this for a few moments before looking at her and saying with a grin, "Nope. Not telling."

Shizuka couldn't help but feel exasperated that the thief wasn't taking her seriously. But then again, it was normal for him to act so carefree and just plain..happy, even though he didn't really feel like it. Come to think of it, if she was right, recently he had been showing what he really felt more often. The Poker Face wasn't entirely gone, but she had seen it crack a few times now. Might as well try and ask him why.

"Hey, Kaito," she said as she continued walking, now more calm. "Do you know that your Poker Face has been less effective lately?"

He fell into step with her and replied, shrugging, "Yes, I noticed that too."

Once again, she suddenly stopped walking and looked at him intently, worry evident in her eyes. "Is there something bothering you?" she asked.

He caught her glance and locked eyes with her for a moment, before suddenly appearing beside her and poking her cheek. "Aww. Shizuka-chan's worried about me! How cute!" he teased and laughed heartily.

However, the object of his teasing couldn't help but feel her eye twitch. Here she was trying to be concerned about him but then he goes and makes fun of her again. She swatted the bothersome hand away and stalked off, sounding irritated as she said, "Fine, be that way. See if I care again."

The thief jogged to catch up with her and said, sounding sincere, "Sorry! You know I was just kidding, right?"

No response. So he continued, this time sounding cheerful, "And to answer your question, I'm alright so you don't have to worry about anything!" He even flashed a smile and gave a thumbs-up as if to emphasize his point.

He got no verbal response again, but he did notice that she raised an eyebrow in suspicion at his answer. At this, he sighed and spoke again after a thoughtful pause, "Do you really want to know?"

She nodded and faced him once again, now ready to hear him out. She saw how he scratched his cheek, as if hesitating a bit, and finally having a deep breath before stepping closer to her. She couldn't help but knit her brows and frowned. '_Is what's bothering him really that serious?_' she thought, now more concerned.

Unfortunately for Shizuka, serious was the last thing on the thief's mind.

Once he was in front of her, Kaito, with a straight face, held her shoulders and pressed their foreheads together. Since their faces were too close, Shizuka had nowhere else to look at but those eyes that were eerily similar to hers, only his were the shade of violet while hers were a cool shade of blue. She couldn't help but blush at their closeness, and that blush intensified when he moved his face even closer to hers, slowly closing the distance between their lips. For some reason, she found herself unable to push him away or even scream 'NO' so she just waited for the nightmare to be over with, until..

Kaito stopped when there was only an inch or so before their lips would meet. Shizuka just stared as he grinned and said, "Nah, I can't tell you right now." With that, he moved away from her immediately and started running, knowing that it would only be a while before she regained her senses and started paying him back for that little stunt he did.

And he was right. Not a moment after he started running, she immediately followed and gave chase, shouting out his name angrily.

It was times like these she wished she still had her ball dispensing belt, just so she could knock some sense into that thief, literally and painfully.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>Well then. Shinichi plans to move out and now has a job. What will happen next? Hehe.

I wonder if the landlady's name was familiar to anyone. I just thought of it randomly and was surprised when I found it online. So.. I don't really own the name either. Haha.

_Kaida-14Kage: Thank you for another review! :D Glad you liked that. Because really, Haibara wouldn't be Haibara if she just easily helped Shinichi. XD Yess. His personality's being changed once again, even in this one. Haha. Well, I guess he can't help it. :P Thanks. Hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving [though this greeting's kinda late already]. And here's an update! I'll try to update soon! :D_

_Miko Vampire: I've been toying with the idea of making it a threesome actually. But.. I'm not yet sure. Haha. Only time will tell. XD Anyway, thank you for the review! :D_

_Yu-na milan: Yes. Sort of. And he doesn't even know it. Haha. Poor Shinichi. XD And here's an update! I'll try to post again soon. Thanks for the review! :D_

_Alaena F. Dragonstar: Aww. Thank you for the review! Glad you found my story interesting! And that you liked that scene. Hehe. ^^ Here's an update. I hope you liked it! :D_

So.. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please review? Hehe. Thank youuuuu! :D


	6. Confusion

**Author's Notes: **To those who can't bear to see Shinichi tortured, I'm sorry! But to those who love him but still want to poke fun at him from time to time, I hope you enjoy this chapter! XD I swear, I don't know where all these came from. XD

Warnings: Female Shinichi, _shounen ai_, AU I think, and OOC-ness.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan in any way.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six: <strong>**Confusion**

Imagine the feeling of having the best day of your life. Like everything's happening the way you want them to. It was as if the gods had come together just to make your day _the _perfect day. Now multiply that happiness by a million.

That was the exact _opposite_ of what Shizuka was feeling right now.

She had been working as a waitress for five days now. Why was she working, you ask? Because she wanted to move out of the Kuroba household. Contrary to popular belief, she wasn't moving out because she was staying away from a thief who seemed to have taken a liking to mercilessly teasing her day in and day out. ..okay, so that _was _a big factor in her decision, but it was also because she couldn't bring herself to intrude further on the hospitality of her friend and his mother. And also because she didn't want to get the latter more involved with her than she already was, lest Chikage get hurt because of her.

Speaking of the woman, Chikage had taken the news of Shizuka moving out much better than the teen expected..somehow. She could tell that Chikage still felt sad at the news though, judging by the times she would space out or suddenly become distracted while doing chores like cooking. It was only when Shizuka promised she would still visit from time to time that the woman seemed to have felt somewhat better, as evidenced by the lesser incidences of small fires in the kitchen.

Back to Shizuka at her work, she was now itching to go home, even if it meant subjecting herself to the usual endless 'torture' of Kaito. She figured she'd rather be with ten Kaitos than where she was right now. Now, you might say that she's just exaggerating, but let's see what has happened to make her feel this way.

First off, the various catcalls she got from all over the shop. And she meant _all over _the shop. She didn't even know the place could hold so many people. Sure that meant the business was doing well, but it also meant that it cost her her sanity to hear those wolf-whistles, pick-up lines, and unsavory offers that would make an innocent girl blush from every damn part of the store directed at _her_. She, Kaede Shizuka, who used to be Kudou Shinichi, a guy! And so she would feel the need to mourn the loss of her manhood once again.

Now, that was just the cherry on top of the cake, a really big cake of problems and worries of one teen detective at her new job.

The catcalls she could probably handle to the best of her ability. It was the customers that did more than that which brought out her inner sadist. More than once she felt the urge to punch a male customer or kick him right where it hurts because they would "accidentally" touch her butt, her thigh, her hand, even her hair. Seriously, how could you even touch a person's hair "accidentally"?

But there were customers much worse than the ones who would touch her, and those were the ones who were much more interested in what was beneath the layers of her uniform, and we mean that quite literally. At one point, there was a customer who hid a camera in his duffel bag under his table. Having a keen eye, Shizuka noticed this before she even approached the man. So as she was serving drinks, she "accidentally" tripped and spilled them on the said bag, thus ruining the camera. Since "she didn't do it on purpose", she got away with only a warning from the manager because she spilled drinks and ruined the customer's bag. After all, it wasn't like the customer would be able to say that it was only by chance that a camera was inside it.

So Shizuka thought that would be the last of the perverts who wanted a view underneath her skirt. But no, apparently there were people who were desperate enough to try the same tactic. This stressed her even more because she was running out of excuses as to why she kept on "accidentally" tripping and spilling drinks on backpacks, kicking paper bags away, etc. Once, she even crushed under her foot a seemingly innocent present. Her excuse was that she thought she saw a spider, when actually she saw the tiny camera hidden well beneath the shower of ribbons on top of the present. These guys were becoming craftier.

All these had been happening to her for four days at eight hours a day. (She deemed herself lucky it didn't start happening on her first day.) That meant 32 hours of harassment from the gender she used to belong to. It also meant 32 hours of grueling test of her patience and trying to keep her sanity in check.

So now here she was, currently taking the order of one guy and his friends whom she swore she had seen in the past few days as well. '_What the hell?_' she thought, irritated. '_Are these guys stalking me or something?_'

However, all thoughts of stalkers went out the window when she suddenly had the familiar feeling of a hand on her thigh. At the moment, her hand was itching to punch the living daylights out of the man. The urge intensified when the offending hand slowly went up. Just when she was going to give in to her desire to hurt the man, a hand came out of nowhere and held the man's wrist. She guessed that the hand was squeezing the wrist hard, judging from the customer's pained look.

The owner of the hand that saved her addressed the customer in a polite but stern manner, "I'm sorry, sir. Though customers are always right, that doesn't give you the right to harass the employees, especially in such a public manner."

The man gave a final yelp of pain as his abused wrist was released. He rubbed it comfortingly and when he looked around, he saw that the entire shop was looking at them, or more specifically, him. Most were looks of hate and disgust and when he turned to look at his companions, they gave him the same look. Feeling that he was not welcome anymore, he left the shop, all the while muttering and grumbling under his breath.

Once the man was gone, his companions gave each other knowing smiles but the voice from earlier spoke up once again, "I'm afraid the same goes for you gentlemen, seeing as how you didn't stop your friend from committing such acts."

They opened their mouths in shock and felt ashamed as the looks of hate and disgust were now directed at them. Meekly, they went out the door as well.

"Are you alright?" came the voice again, this time facing the harassed teen.

Shizuka, who had been watching the exchange with a concentrated look on her face, snapped out of her thoughts and faced her savior. She bowed and said, feeling grateful but also embarrassed that a guy helped her out, "Um. Thank you so much!"

In return, she received a smile that she figured was supposed to be 'charming'. He said with a small bow, "No problem. It was my pleasure to help a lady such as yourself."

She couldn't help but mentally cringe at the brown-blonde boy before her. Either he was flirting with her or he was like this normally. Either way, she didn't like it one bit. She may have escaped the perverts but she was facing another dilemma: a flower boy that must be used to sweet-talking the ladies. All he needed was a background of flowers and sparkly things and the occasional dreamy sigh of women as they helplessly faint at his coolness.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she noticed that the guy was actually talking to her. "Sorry, I spaced out. What did you say?" she asked.

"Ah. Nothing, really. Just that your manager seems to be calling for you," he said and pointed towards the counter where an elderly man was looking at them.

"Right. Well, I have to go. Thank you again." However, just as she was about to walk away, she felt the guy grab her arm and made her stop in place.

"What's your name?" he asked.

For a moment, she considered inventing some other name. But since she wasn't that creative anyway (she remembered how she was teased for coming up with the name Edogawa Conan), she figured she might as well tell the truth. "Kaede Shizuka," she said. With that, she finally walked away, not even waiting to hear the boy's name. He who was left, however, just stood there watching her back, a smile on his lips as he repeated her name.

Shizuka was hoping against hope that her manager was calling her for a good reason, like because she was handling the perverts so well, he decided to give her an enormous raise or a promotion, or something. But as she stepped closer, she saw that he had a worried look on his face. '_This..might not be good_,' she thought, now worried as well.

To her relief, the manager was actually worried about _her_. He was worried that one of his employees was being harassed so much. He gave her a different task so the customers would leave her alone for the day.

'_Hmm. Showing a new employee the works? But I'm new too. Ah well. As long as I don't have to deal with perverted customers and flirty guys_,' she thought and shuddered at the memory.

She was told that the new employee would be at the staff room so she headed there. She was hoping it would be someone normal because really, she couldn't take anymore craziness at her workplace; her life itself was crazy after all. When she opened the door and saw the new employee, she couldn't help but open her mouth in shock. Meanwhile, the person before her just gave a familiar grin and said, "Hi, _Shizuka-chan_~"

* * *

><p>Shizuka wanted to cry. She really did. But somehow, she managed to suck it up and endure it like a man. Or so she thought.<p>

She got a job in hopes of earning money to move out of the Kuroba household (and thus spend less time with Kaito to avoid further awkwardness between them). Okay, sounds pretty simple, right? But she didn't expect the job to come with perverts and flirts. She felt that it should have been included in the job description.

"Wanted: Waitress. For those who don't understand, that's a female waiter. But don't worry, males who have become females due to ingesting a poison are still very much welcome. Be warned though that even if this is a family-friendly establishment, there might be sick people who'd have the nerve to harass you if you're too popular for your own good. Also, there might be those who want to see your underwear. But don't worry, you'll be saved by other customers who then hit on you and ask you for your name. Still considering the job? That's great! Oh, and did we also mention that we just might hire the one person you're trying to avoid awkward situations with?"

Right. As if a job description would be _that _detailed. Oh, and the last part? Unfortunately, yes, Kaito just got hired as well.

Really, she should have expected something like this already.

But surprisingly, aside from the overly sweet greeting, Kaito proved to be an attentive individual interested in what she had to explain, which greatly surprised Shizuka. Still, she decided to be cautious just in case he had some surprises prepared.

She spent the next few hours explaining to him the same things taught to her. She couldn't help but feel bothered though, especially whenever he would ask about something that was actually relevant to what she was saying. Somehow, she still wondered if this was really the Kaito she knew. Well, it's not like she had another look-a-like, right?

When she finished explaining everything to him and telling him to observe how the others worked, she reviewed him to see if he really had been paying attention. To her surprise, indeed he was.

At that moment, the manager reappeared and made Kaito serve a few tables for practice, at which he did well. The day ended with the two being allowed to go home, but not before the manager reminded Kaito not to be late the following day and told Shizuka to enjoy her first day-off.

* * *

><p>When they arrived home, to their delight, a hot dinner was already awaiting them. And so they dug in.<p>

While eating, Chikage asked how Shizuka's work had been these past few days. To this she replied that she was doing fine, that the staff were friendly, and the manager was helpful.

"How about the customers? I hope they're not giving you such a hard time. You're such a pretty girl, I bet you're popular with the male customers," Chikage teased. Shizuka just blushed in embarrassment and upon seeing this, the woman laughed good-naturedly.

She then turned to her son and asked, "How about you, Kai-chan? How did your first day go?"

At this, Shizuka intended to have her questions finally answered. "Auntie, you knew Kaito was going to work at the same place as me?" she asked.

"Yes. He's been telling me this past week about applying there, but it was only yesterday that he got accepted."

"But..why?" This time, Shizuka directed her question to the thief who just shrugged and said, "I figured I might as well do some actual work, though I still plan on doing heists of course."

Chikage just sighed and supplied, "He told me the same thing. But I know you'd be more persistent in finding out the truth, Shizuka-chan." She said the last part with a knowing smile.

The teen detective thought about this for a moment. Yes, she would be more persistent in finding out the truth behind Kaito's motives. After all, even though they were friends, she was sure that there were still things the thief wouldn't tell her about. Chikage probably already knew what her son's secrets were, and it would most probably be because she was his mother; of course she'd know him so well.

So Shizuka decided to find out more later when she and Kaito were alone. Maybe that would make him answer her questions more truthfully.

With that, the rest of dinner was spent in silence, though there still were questions hanging in the air.

* * *

><p>Kaito had just taken a shower and was now toweling his hair dry when he heard a knock on his door. It could only be two people, and he was pretty sure which of the two it was. He opened the door to reveal no other than Shizuka herself. He let her in and motioned for her to sit on the bed but she just shook her head, saying she was fine with standing.<p>

Both were silent and avoiding each other's gazes, waiting for the other to begin talking. Finally, Shizuka decided to start since she was the one who visited anyway. "Kaito," she said. "Can you be honest with me?"

He had a feeling where this conversation would lead to, but he said anyway, "Sure."

She raised an eyebrow at how he replied in such an off-handed manner, but continued nonetheless. "What's the real reason you decided to work? And at the same place as where I work even?"

He just shrugged and said, "What I said earlier was true. I figured I might as well start working too. As for why the same place as you, I thought that since we're both new to this, wouldn't it be better if we work together?"

Shizuka paused and seemed to think for a moment, before nodding in agreement.

Kaito smiled a little, relieved that she now believed him and didn't press him further. But then he sounded worried when he asked, "By the way, are you alright? I heard there was some sort of fuss earlier in the shop. I'm guessing it was before you showed me around and explained stuff."

Her eyes widened and she suddenly looked horrified, though blushing a bit. The thief wondered what could have happened to make her react in such a way even by just remembering it.

As if to satisfy his curiosity, she retold the horrors of her morning. Scratch that, it was the horrors of her entire _week_. Kaito listened to her, feeling both sorry and upset that she had to undergo such things. '_I guess it was a good thing I get to work with her from now on_,' he thought and smiled to himself.

Still, he felt that she wasn't giving every detail of everything that happened so he figured it must have traumatized her that much. He couldn't help but frown at the thought. This was why he was worried about her having such a job. At least now he could watch over her even if she would be moving out.

But then he asked himself again, why _was _he doing all this? If Tantei-kun (or should he now call her Tantei-chan?) knew about his thoughts, surely by now she'd tell him firmly that she didn't need watching over, especially by him. And he sort of agrees with that. She had proven countless times before that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, even in very sticky situations. Then why..?

'_It's because _he _is now a _she,' he said, trying to convince himself. That was right. Even if she was still a boy on the inside, of course other people wouldn't know that. However, he noticed that slowly, she seemed to have been changing little by little; she was somehow becoming more..feminine. '_All the more reason to watch over her,_' he thought firmly. Plus, it was his fault she turned into a girl, so yeah.

When he 'tuned in' again into their conversation, Shizuka was talking about some foreigner who flirted with her.

"Wait. What?" he asked, suddenly confused. "Who's this foreigner you're talking about?"

"I don't really know," she said and shrugged. "He asked for my name but I didn't bother asking his."

"And you said your real name? Well, your real name as Shizuka, at least," he asked. To his surprise, she narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms over her chest as she said, sounding clearly upset, "I'm sorry. I thought _Edogawa Conan_ had no right to invent more names, especially since you and Heiji seemed to have found the name so funny and unoriginal."

Kaito remembered the time he found out how the name 'Edogawa Conan' came to be. It was one afternoon that the three of them (with Heiji) were hanging out. Yes, he and the Kansai detective laughed, thus they earned bumps on their heads courtesy of then-Shinichi. He didn't think that short moment of teasing would always be remembered by the detective though.

"Sorry about that," he said sheepishly. "We were just kidding around, you know, like always." She just nodded and uncrossed her arms, though her eyes were still narrowed on him somewhat. He took this as a sign that she seemed to have accepted his [late] apology somehow, so he continued, "Anyway, then what happened?"

"Nothing. I was told to orient you then."

"Ah."

There was silence once again. For some reason, Kaito was bothered by that foreigner. Hmm.

"Ah. Kaito," came the voice that snapped him out of his thoughts. "Yeah?" he asked.

"Since I already found out what I came here for, I'll be going back now. Sorry for disturbing you," she said and moved towards the door. Kaito followed and said, "Don't worry, it's alright."

By then, she was out the door already. But before walking away, he stopped her. "Um. Shizuka!" he exclaimed. At this, she turned to look at him, looking a bit surprised and confused.

Kaito hesitated for a moment before speaking, "I'll work hard, especially starting on Monday when you work again. I'll do my best so that you won't have to re-experience the things you went through today."

'_What on earth am I babbling about?_' he asked himself once he uttered those words.

Shizuka looked puzzled at what he was saying as well, but she also looked touched. She just nodded and smiled, "Thanks, Kaito."

Caught off-guard by her smile, he suddenly held her shoulders firmly, making the smaller teen blink her eyes in surprise. However, the thief just smiled as well as he said determinedly, "I'll protect you, Shizuka." And as if on impulse, he kissed her on the cheek.

For a moment, time seemed to have stopped. And when Kaito realized what he had done, he let Shizuka's shoulders go and stepped back into his room. He felt his cheeks become hot and tried to cover his face, his eyes squeezed shut as he awaited what punishment the detective would now unleash on him. To his surprise, she did nothing. And when he looked at her, she was just standing there with her eyes wide and her cheeks pink as well.

When she came to her senses, she looked down to hide her face and mumbled 'good night' before walking briskly towards her temporary room which was just down the hall. Kaito took that as a cue to close his door as well, but not before saying a small 'good night' which he was sure went unheard.

Once he was alone inside his room, he collapsed onto his bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering what on earth possessed him to do such a thing. He closed his eyes trying to forget what happened, but the only thing on his mind was how it felt..nice. Immediately, he shook his head and tried to stop the blush that was creeping back onto his face. His only thought then was, '_She's gonna kill me._'

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>Finally done with this! For some reason, I had a more difficult time writing the end of this chapter compared to the beginning because I couldn't decide how I was gonna end it. In a funny way or in a somewhat serious way? Guess which I chose. Hehe.

Once again, I'm sorry for torturing Shinichi. It was just so fun! XD

Thank you very much to all who reviewed! Especially to **Kaida-14Kage**! Wee. I really appreciate all you guys' support. ^^

_Yu-na milan: Yes. He's slowly becoming more feminine, isn't he? Mwahaha. Glad you liked that chapter! Hope you liked this one too!_

_Kaida-14Kage: Right now, no. I'll make them realize it in future chapters so it'll be more..fun? Hehe. I'm glad you liked that chapter too! _

_DayDreaming0f y0u: Um. Because I don't know how to write like that..yet? Haha. And kinda because they're too confused right now so things happen one step at a time. :D_

_AkoyaMizuno: I'm sorry! I'm sorry too, Sailor Saturn! I'm a forgetful teen who has forgotten a few names of the anime characters that made up her childhood._ _T^T_

_Alaena F. Dragonstar: Yep, I've had dreams like that too before. Actually, that chapter was inspired because I had a dream like that just a few days before starting to write it. Hehe. :D_

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please review! :)


	7. Distractions

**Author's Notes: **Aoko won't be making an appearance ever. For the sake of the story, she doesn't exist. I hope that's alright with you guys. :) And this chapter's kinda long. It's my longest so far, actually. O.O Sorry about that. I guess you could say that it's to make up for last chapter which was my shortest one so far. Hehe.

Warnings: Female Shinichi, _shounen ai_, AU I think, and OOC-ness.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan in any way.

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><p><strong>Chapter Seven: Distractions<strong>

When Shizuka returned to her job on Monday, she was surprised to see that things were entirely different compared to how they were just last Friday.

For one thing, there was no suspicious-looking male customer in sight. Even if there were guys, she could see that they were only dads with their families, boyfriends with their girlfriends, or just plain groups of teen friends. The shop was packed once again but it was now full of wholesome people. She couldn't help but sigh in relief; things were finally looking up for her!

She felt curious though, as to what could have caused this change. Could it have been Kaito? Because the two days that she was off, he was the one working here. Hmm.

Just then, she overheard two of her female co-workers talking about exactly what was on her mind.

"Kuroba-kun's amazing, isn't he?" one said.

"Yeah! He's so talented! He's a really great magician!" the other replied with a dreamy look on her face.

Shizuka couldn't help but interrupt them so she could receive answers to her questions. "Excuse me," she started. "I couldn't help but overhear you both. It sounded like you were talking about our newest co-worker?"

Both girls nodded enthusiastically. The first one said, "Yep. We were talking about Kuroba-kun." She even pointed to where he was currently taking the order of a few customers.

"What about him exactly?" Shizuka pressed.

The two girls seemed only too happy to share what they were talking about. "These past couple of days, he's been giving small shows and performing magic tricks. And the customers just love it!"

Suddenly, the first girl pointed again and said excitedly, "Look! He's gonna do one now!"

True enough, Kaito was standing in the middle of the shop where everybody could easily see him. Currently, all eyes in the area were indeed on him. He made a top hat appear out of nowhere and proceeded with the 'pulling a rabbit out of a magic hat' trick. However, instead of pulling out a rabbit or other magician's stuff, he pulled out the plates of meals he was supposed to serve and placed them on the appropriate tables. Of course, the customers, and even the staff, applauded in awe. He continued with this until all customers received their orders. When he was done, he made the hat disappear and bowed to the still-applauding shop of people before he went behind the counter where Shizuka and their two co-workers were watching him.

He grinned at the three of them before going inside the cook's area. When he was gone, the two girls gushed happily at how Kaito grinned at them while Shizuka just stood there, a hand on her chest and a light blush on her cheeks.

'_W-what's going on with me?'_ she thought worriedly.

All of a sudden, what happened just a few nights before entered her mind. She remembered how Kaito kissed her cheek that night. Suffice to say, ever since, she felt even more awkward around him, and she felt saddened by this. She didn't want the two of them to grow apart, they were friends after all.

'_But it's his fault for doing that so suddenly! How was I supposed to react? How was I supposed to feel?_' she thought, her mind in turmoil. She was never good when it came to emotions and feelings; she'd rather deal with the cold, hard logic of things.

'_But come to think of it, he seemed surprised too at what he did.._' she thought again, making herself feel the need to pull at her hair in frustration. This could not go on. She had work to do and she had an apartment to save for! She couldn't continue being affected by events like this.

And so she pumped her fists and said a silent encouragement to herself. She then thanked the two girls she was talking to earlier and proceeded to take the orders of a few new customers.

* * *

><p>The end of their shift came sooner than he thought. Nonetheless, Kaito was happy that it had been a productive day at work. There were lots of customers again and Shizuka didn't get hit on by any patrons. Two birds with one stone! His plan worked perfectly. He would glance at her from time to time and would give her a grin, but either she didn't notice or she simply ignored him. He felt it was more of the latter though and was confused as to why she would be like that.<p>

'_Was it because of what I did last Friday..?_' he asked himself, his cheeks turning pink at the memory. It wasn't his fault; even he felt that it was such an on-the-spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. He was still embarrassed at what he did (which he thought was new to him) but he didn't really regret it that much.

At that moment, he saw that the person he was thinking about was now about to leave the establishment.

"Hey, Shizuka!" he called out and tried to catch up with her. When they were walking side by side, he noticed that she suddenly moved away, as if avoiding walking together with him. He couldn't help but sigh in exasperation. What, they were back to being awkward friends now?

But he didn't press her or bug her about it. Though he loved teasing people, especially Shizuka, he also knew that there was a limit to annoying people, especially if he was the one annoying them. And he was sure that the teen detective was almost at her limit, her job being a big contributing factor to that. And maybe him. Though he made this day less stressful for her, he wasn't sure if it'd be the same for the remaining days of their job. He wished he could take her mind off her problems even for a short while.

Little did he know, his request was going to be answered in just a few minutes..

* * *

><p>..in the form of a woman screaming hysterically from inside a house on the street they were currently at.<p>

The two teens looked at each other for a moment before quickly running in the direction of the sound. They entered the house where they heard the scream through the door that was ajar, and immediately, a horrible sight befell them.

A man was sprawled out on the carpet of what seemed to be the living room. His limbs were at awkward angles and his face, which was turned to one side, showed a grotesque expression. Kaito might not be an expert on this, but he was sure the guy was dead.

Suddenly, he noticed a change in Shizuka. It was as if she was now more alert and more aware of everything around her. She stepped to the man's body and checked the pulse just to be sure. When she got her answer, she turned to him and said seriously, "Kaito, call an ambulance and the police." He nodded and proceeded to do as he was told.

A few moments later, Shizuka had been able to explain to the distressed woman, who was actually the man's wife, who was surprised at their sudden arrival that she was a detective and that he was her friend. She had also been able to look around the house (with the woman's permission) and interviewed the few other residents of the house. All this time, Kaito was watching her every move and was obediently following her order not to let anyone out and not to let anyone inside the house, unless it was the police or the ambulance.

By the time the authorities arrived though, Shizuka had figured out who the man's killer was. She relayed all of the information she gathered and all the clues that pointed to the suspect who, upon being revealed, moved to stab her with a knife.

At that moment, Kaito felt his heart pound in his chest painfully and sprang into action, only to suddenly stop when the person he was attempting to save pushed a button on her belt and kicked furiously the soccer ball that popped out of it, hitting the suspect square in the face.

The police took the suspect away but before they left, Inspector Megure talked to the two teens. "I'm really grateful for your help, you two," he said. "Though technically, you still entered the house without permission. On top of that, you conducted an investigation all on your own." His tone wasn't angry or irritated. In fact, he sounded somewhat in awe. At this, they just scratched their heads sheepishly. The inspector continued, "But I still can't deny that you helped us out, so thank you." He gave a small bow which they returned.

"Um. We can go now, right, Inspector?" Kaito asked as he made a move towards the door, Shizuka right behind him.

"Wait a moment," the older man said which made them stop in their tracks. He moved towards Shizuka and said, sounding curious, "You seem really familiar. Have we met before?"

Before she could answer though, Kaito beat her to it and said, "Sorry, Inspector, but I'm pretty sure you haven't met each other yet. She's Kaede Shizuka, a family friend who just arrived from America a few weeks ago."

"Um. What he said. Nice to meet you, Inspector," Shizuka said and held out a hand which Megure shook briefly. He said, "Is that so. Well then, I hope you enjoy your stay here. And thank you again for the help earlier, Kaede-kun, Kudou-kun."

This time, he was about to leave when Kaito stopped him. "Um. I'm not Kudou!" he called out. "Kuroba Kaito, if you remember?"

The inspector's face took on a thoughtful expression, as if trying to remember something. It then turned into realization and then embarrassment. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "A friend of Kudou-kun, right? Sorry about that. The two of you just look so alike. How is Kudou-kun doing, by the way?"

"He's currently out of the country. His parents dragged him off," Kaito replied, sounding like he felt both amusement and pity for his friend's situation.

Megure sweatdropped at this. He respected the Kudou family but they were still a bit..weird at times. He then nodded and tipped his hat upward, "Well, best of luck to him then. See you, Kaede-kun, Kuroba-kun."

With that, he left. The two teens waved in goodbye before they made their own way home.

As they were walking, Kaito noticed that Shizuka now seemed more cheerful. Her eyes had also become more alive and vibrant. He thought it was kind of morbid that it was a crime scene that took her mind off her problems, but then again, crime scenes were her expertise; it was her real work which she took pride in. So as long as she was feeling better and happy, he was feeling happy too.

But then he remembered how she kicked the suspect with that soccer ball. '_She must have managed to convince Hakase to make her an adult-sized ball-dispensing belt. And her skills didn't seem to have diminished in any way. I guess I have to avoid pissing her off too much now_,' he thought with a shudder. After all, he knew just how deadly her soccer skills were from first-hand experience. He could still remember the times he got hit on different body parts on different heists. Needless to say, Kaitou KID was out of commission for some time whenever that happened.

Speaking of KID, a sudden idea popped into his mind. If he was right, this idea could further cheer up (or at least distract) Tantei-chan. He glanced at his companion whose mood was still cheery. Before he could execute his plan however, he would most probably be inflicted with body pain first. But he wouldn't mind. In fact, it would probably be worth it, as long as he saw her like this again.

With that, he spent the rest of the walk home with a soft smile on his face and the wheels of his mind turning, trying to complete the rest of his plan.

* * *

><p>It was Saturday morning once again. Kaito had left for work while Shizuka was planning how to spend her day off. However, upon reading the day's newspaper, she immediately knew what she was going to do. She called Heiji and asked him to come over.<p>

When he arrived, the two teens, along with Chikage, sat in the dining room to talk.

"I'm guessin' this is 'bout KID?" he asked. The two women nodded. He continued, "So what'd he tell ya' 'bout his planned heist tonight?"

"That's the thing," Shizuka responded. "He didn't tell either of us about it. We only found out because of today's paper." She spread the newspaper on the table and pointed to the article she was referring to.

Heiji thought for a moment before asking another question, "It can't be a fake notice, right?"

Chikage shook her head. "It's really from him," she said and pointed to the photograph of the notice which was also included in the article.

The Kansai detective seemed thoughtful for a few moments. Honestly, even he was baffled as to why Kaito didn't bother informing Chikage and Shizuka about his planned heist tonight. Well, he'd understand if the thief didn't tell the latter because she'd go after him one way or another. Plus it would give her much more of a challenge if she didn't know his entire plan. But then why didn't he tell his own mother? Hmm.

'_Bah. Whatever. We're gonna attempt ta catch 'im anyway, no matter what_,' he thought determinedly. It had been a while since he had a crime scene to solve or a KID heist to attend to. Tonight would surely be interesting.

* * *

><p>Shizuka and Heiji were outside the museum where KID's latest heist would be held around an hour before the designated time. They saw there was a huge crowd of people already. Most were fans of KID who were eagerly waiting to see their idol, but the two teens were sure there were a few police officers wearing civilian clothing mixed with the crowd.<p>

They tried to enter the museum but were stopped by police officers. Upon hearing the name 'Hattori' though, the officers allowed them to pass through and even led them to the room where the gem was being guarded.

The Heart of Eternity Diamond, which was KID's target for that night, was a small, heart-shaped diamond in the color of fancy vivid blue. It was currently inside a glass case in the center of the room. Even from a distance, Shizuka could see the beauty of the gem as the light was reflected from each careful cut made on the stone.

She was brought out of her concentration when she heard a gruff voice say, "Oh, it's you, Hattori-kun. And who might this be?" She turned to look at the speaker who happened to be Nakamori Ginzo, the head of the police task force dedicated to capturing Kaitou KID. Before, she always believed that he was too hell-bent on capturing the elusive thief to the point that it must be his obsession, but she found out that he might not be such a bad guy after all. Though the man didn't like asking for help, for some reason he still appreciated it whenever 'Conan' helped him out. This made her respect him more.

"Don't worry, Nakamori-keibu. This is my friend, Kaede Shizuka. She's also a detective," Heiji said. Shizuka bowed upon being introduced.

Nakamori raised an eyebrow at this and proceeded with his standard pulling of cheeks to ensure that neither of the teens were KID in disguise. When he was done with that, he apologized to the two who were rubbing their aching cheeks and explained that it was protocol to check like that during a KID heist.

"She's replacing Kudou-kun for tonight?" he suddenly asked, curious.

Heiji shook his head and said, "Not really. Kudou's away with his parents an' we still don't know when he'll be back. Meanwhile, Shizuka here just arrived a few weeks ago an' will be stayin' fer a while."

Nakamori nodded in understanding but said nothing. A younger officer then made his way towards him and spoke to him for a short moment. After their conversation, the younger officer went to the glass case where the gem was and took it out, replacing it with an identical one. Once he was done with that, he returned the original to Nakamori and went back to his post.

Shizuka followed this officer with her eyes as he acted, feeling that there was something a bit off. But she put her suspicions aside for the moment.

"So ya' replaced the gem with a fake, huh?" Heiji said. Shizuka noticed that there was a hint of exasperation at his tone. She couldn't blame him, really. After all, KID was too smart to be out-tricked just like that. But it seemed like Nakamori-keibu still didn't realize that yet. Or even if he did, he must be running out of ways to try and capture KID.

"Yes," the inspector replied, apparently not noticing the tone in Heiji's voice earlier. "We've also set up laser motion sensors around the case. The windows are barred to block his escape. And just to be sure, we've sent officers to guard every exit route possible."

Yep, she had just confirmed that Nakamori-keibu was indeed running out of original plans to capture KID. She couldn't help but feel a bit amused at the last part of his statement though. '_He sure sounded like the officers guarding the exit routes was an if-all-else-fails option. He must be that worried about KID and his superb disguising skills_,' she thought. She then heard Heiji snort and figured they were both on the same page. At this, she couldn't help but grin.

Suddenly, someone else spoke up. "Don't forget, Nakamori-keibu. I'm also here," said a voice that Shizuka was sure she had heard before. When she turned to look at its source, she couldn't help but open her mouth in shock.

"Oh. Nice to meet you again, Shizuka-kun," the brown-blonde boy greeted. "I assume you still remember me? Unfortunately, I never got to give my name. I'm Hakuba Saguru. You can call me Saguru." With that, he took her hand and brushed his lips against it, earning a horrified look from the girl.

* * *

><p>There was now only five minutes before the designated time. Everyone was feeling both excited and anxious, especially Nakamori. Heiji was the same and he was sure that Shizuka felt the same too, but he couldn't help but sense that she was feeling something else.<p>

Irritation perhaps? Or more specifically, irritation at the new brown-blonde boy in their midst?

He didn't know how the two met, but it must have been an incident that brushed Shizuka in a negative way, judging from her strained smile ever since he appeared. Or maybe it was because he kissed her hand? Whatever it was, Heiji found himself not liking the foreign detective as well and sent him a scowl (which he hoped wasn't noticed).

But he had to forget his irritation for a while because at that moment, the lights went out. He smirked and thought to himself, '_Time fer KID's show ta start_.'

The newbie officers that night were panicking because of the sudden blackout, but Nakamori silenced them and told them to be calm since KID would be arriving anytime soon now. True enough, a spot light focused on the glass case appeared and with a puff of smoke, the thief himself appeared, standing on the case. Nakamori immediately shouted, "Get him!" and ran for the man himself, but only ended up in a heap of police officers attempting to catch KID who simply disappeared. He emerged from the pile only to have a confused look on his face as other spot lights appeared in different parts of the room with KID being focused on each one of them.

There was a moment of silence as the officers waited for their next order. When Nakamori seemed to have already absorbed the image of seeing so many KIDs, he shouted, "Get them!"

Heiji, along with Shizuka and Saguru, just watched on the sidelines as the chaos unfolded in front of them. Every time a group of police officers would 'attack' one of the KIDs that appeared, he would disappear in a puff of smoke and leave the officers in a mess of magic paraphernalia. One group was tangled in a mess of colorful handkerchiefs, another had doves pecking different parts of their bodies, and so on and so forth. The three teens couldn't help but be amused at the sight, but they were also on guard in case they were the next targets of the thief.

Heiji was itching for the real KID to make his appearance when suddenly, there was a loud pop from the door. Everybody turned to look at the source of the sound and saw, finally, KID himself. He said in a sing-song voice, "Thank you for the gem, Keibu." He then gave a dramatic bow and disappeared.

Heiji turned to look at Nakamori who was frantically searching his pockets for the real gem but failed. He then noticed that the fake on display was still inside the glass case. '_So Kuroba knew that the real one was with Nakamori-keibu the whole time. I knew he'd be too smart ta be out-tricked like that_,' he thought and ran out the door to pursue the thief, Shizuka ahead of him and Saguru right behind him.

They ran up flights of stairs since they knew that there was only one escape for KID, which was through the rooftop. On the way there, however, Saguru fell behind. When Heiji turned to look, to his horror, he saw that Saguru was dripping with bright pink paint. But that wasn't the bad part. It was also as if he had front row access to an explosion of glitters, cotton, and feathers. Heiji hesitated whether he should help the guy out or follow KID, but as soon as he felt a murderous aura emanating from the brown-blonde boy, he decided the second option was much better. He shouted a short, "Sorry, Hakuba-han!" and continued running up the steps.

His short moment of hesitation from earlier cost him to be left behind by Shizuka. And the distance between them steadily grew larger as time passed by. '_Damn. Kudou's gotten faster_,' he thought. He just tried his best to catch up though. However, by the time he reached the rooftop, there was nothing but white smoke. And when it cleared, there was nobody there, not even Shizuka.

'_What the hell? Where did they go?_' he thought, confused.

* * *

><p><em>From Earlier<em>

Shizuka could feel her smile slipping. She knew it looked strained, but she didn't care. All she wanted to concentrate on right now was the KID heist, and not some foreign detective who had been staring at her for the past few minutes.

'_If only he didn't know about the humiliation I went through in the store last Friday. And if only I didn't owe him for saving me from said __humiliation_..' she thought miserably.

Suddenly, the lights went out. She merely listened as the newbie officers panicked in the dark while Nakamori ordered them to stay calm.

As she stay still, trying to feel her surroundings, she felt a sudden gust of wind in front of her, as if someone passed her by. She squinted her eyes and tried to make out who the person was despite the darkness, to no avail. And so she just let her eyes adapt to the darkness as best as she could.

When all the KIDs popped up and the police officers tried to 'catch' them, she couldn't help but feel a bit amused. There was even one group who ended up having their faces painted like clowns, with matching colorful wigs even. Trust Kaito to have tricks that would bring out laughter to the audience but not to the victim.

While the police was in chaos, there was a loud pop that sounded from the doorway. Everyone in the room turned to look at the sound and saw KID himself who thanked Nakamori-keibu for the gem before bowing and disappearing.

Shizuka saw the inspector search his pockets frantically for the gem, to no avail. Looks like KID really did get the original and didn't fall for the fake on display.

With that, she ran out the door and started heading for the rooftop where the thief would most likely make his escape. Behind her, she heard two pairs of feet running as well, presumably Heiji and Saguru.

'_It must have been KID who passed by in front of me earlier while the lights were out. He must have gotten the gem from Nakamori-keibu then_,' she thought as she started going up the continuous stairwell. But then she remembered the officer who replaced the gem in the glass case with a fake one. '_He looked pretty suspicious too_,' she pondered.

In the middle of her musing and running, she suddenly heard Heiji shout, "Sorry, Hakuba-han!"

She was surprised why his voice sounded quite far away. Wasn't he just almost behind her a while ago? She chanced a glance below and saw that Heiji was already a few flights of stairs below her, still running. Meanwhile, Saguru was nowhere to be seen, though she did see flash of something pink and sparkly somewhere a little further below Heiji.

'_I'm sorry I can't stop for you guys_,' she thought apologetically, feeling guilty that she couldn't even wait up for them. But she figured that Heiji would just be more upset at her if she waited for them and KID ended up escaping without even breaking a sweat.

So with every bit of her energy, she ran the last few steps to the rooftop as fast as she could, until finally..

She opened the door to the rooftop with a loud crash. Her eyes scanned the area but could only see the glimpse of a hang glider before a big explosion of white smoke enveloped her.

Coughing, she tried to fan the smoke away with her hand as she walked in what she thought was the direction of the hang glider she saw earlier. Suddenly, she felt fingers on either side of her neck and a sudden light-headedness. Before she collapsed though, there was feeling of weightlessness as she was swept of her feet, quite literally.

The last thing on her mind before her eyes closed entirely was, '_What on earth..is going on.._?'

* * *

><p>Kaito, still dressed as KID, beamed. Shizuka might kill him for this, either during or after he was done with his plan, but he didn't care. After all, if everything happened according to his liking, all thoughts of murdering him would disappear from Tantei-chan's mind.<p>

He double-checked and triple-checked that Shizuka's harnesses were fastened properly. When he was satisfied, he fastened his own. When he was done though, he heard a pair of footsteps noisily and quickly making its way to where they were. '_Why so soon_?' Kaito thought, somewhat irritated. He at least took comfort in the fact that the white smoke still hadn't cleared entirely. He then proceeded to shake Shizuka lightly to wake her up. After all, having her unconscious would defeat the purpose of his plan.

When she fluttered her eyes open, Kaito heard that the steps were so near already. He sighed and hoped that his companion wouldn't kill him too soon for this. With that, he took off.

* * *

><p>Shizuka had the vague sensation of someone shaking her lightly. Before she opened her eyes, she swore she could still feel the ground below her. But why was it that she could now only feel air beneath her feet? And why did the wind suddenly seem strong against her face..<p>

'OHMYGODWHATTHEHELLISHAPPENING!1!' she thought in extreme panic. Now sure that she definitely wasn't on the ground anymore, she almost wanted to scream, if only she still wasn't so shocked that she was in the air upon gaining consciousness.

"Hey, _Shizuka-chan_~" came a voice from her left. Wait, what?

She turned to look and saw Kaito (who was still dressed as KID) by her side. He was harnessed to something which, when she looked up, she discovered to be a dark-colored hang glider, as opposed to his usual white one. Wait, if he was by her side and they were moving together, then that means..she was also on the same glider..?

* * *

><p>Once Shizuka was fully awake and aware of where she was, Kaito noticed that she suddenly became very pale. '<em>I thought she wasn't afraid of heights<em>?' he wondered. He tentatively touched her arm and asked in a concerned tone, "Shizuka, what's wrong?"

Almost immediately, her eyes turned to him and he suddenly felt a jolt of fear, even though he had already been expecting her to react this way. '_Oh crud_,' he thought.

Several minutes of shouting/reprimanding (mostly Shizuka), apologizing (mostly Kaito), and three close-call crash-landings later, the two were finally flying peacefully, or as peaceful as things could get.

After Shizuka talked his ear off for semi-kidnapping her (he tried to reason that it wasn't really kidnapping) and waking her up while they were already in the air, another awkward silence settled over them. This didn't really last long because Kaito had to tell her from time to time to make a turn on her side so they didn't crash. So after a few minutes of one-sided attempts at conversations, the thief sighed and apologized for the nth time that night.

"Look, Shizuka, I'm really sorry, alright? But I did this for a reason, you know," he said sincerely. He got no reply but when he looked at her, she seemed to have raised an eyebrow at his statement, as if telling him to go on. So he did. "I know..you're really stressed about many things, your job being one of them, the antidote another thing, and..probably me too." He said the last part in a quieter voice, but he was sure he was still heard. "So I wanted to take your mind off all the serious things for even a little while, and just let you enjoy the view."

As he said this, they reached a cliff somewhere outside Beika. They had been descending and Kaito took that opportunity to land in a nearby open area. Once they were safely on land again, he helped Shizuka remove the harnesses and led her near the end of the cliff where the whole city could be seen.

He heard her have a sharp intake of breath as she absorbed what lay before her. Like he expected, her face took on an amazed looked as her eyes roamed the landscape. He couldn't help but smile softly, this was how he reacted too when he first discovered the place.

The city itself was pretty and lively, especially during the evenings, but being in this place and observing it from afar, one could see that the city was even more _beautiful_. Looking at how the lights of different buildings, be it tall or short ones, all became small points that dotted and glowed in contrast to the darkness of the night somehow had a relaxing effect on him, and probably on Shizuka too.

When he turned to look at her, he couldn't help but chuckle since she still had her mouth in a small 'oh' of amazement. He immediately regretted it though because he seemed to have broken the spell she was under as she appreciated the view. "Sorry I distracted you," he said apologetically and scratched his head sheepishly.

Shizuka blinked and shook her head before smiling and saying, "No, it's alright. It's just..I never knew the city was so pretty at night."

At this, Kaito couldn't help but grin. "You want to see something that's prettier?" he asked.

"What's that?" she asked, sounding eager.

"The top view! Everything looks more beautiful from above!" he said excitedly. He was surprised though when he got a nervous and somewhat uncertain reaction from his companion. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I..Normally I don't have anything against flying, but using a hang glider feels..unnatural to me.." she replied in a small voice, her head down in embarrassment.

"Don't worry!" Kaito said reassuringly. "I promise nothing bad will happen. I mean, look at me, I've been using a glider for a pretty long time and I'm still in one piece, right?" He even twirled around, as if to emphasize his point. Shizuka couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Alright, alright. I'll try it," she said.

Kaito beamed and led her back to where the glider was waiting. He helped her with the harnesses again before doing his own. Before they took off, however, he noticed that her hands gripping the bar were somewhat trembling. He then held out his right hand, waiting for her to take it. Shizuka raised an eyebrow at this, and Kaito noticed that she looked wary and suspicious. His cheeks turned a faint pink, suddenly embarrassed. He scratched his head and said somewhat defensively, "Hey, it's not like I had a hidden motive or anything. I just noticed that..your hands were.." He trailed off and looked away, but was surprised when she indeed took his hand. When he looked at her, she was looking away as well, but could see that there was a slight coloring in her cheeks as she said, "F-fine. But don't do anything funny, alright? Or else!"

Even though she threatened him like that, he could feel just how much she really was trembling. He squeezed her hand reassuringly and gave her a smile, and they took off.

* * *

><p>They had been flying for quite a while now. 30 minutes, or had it been an hour already? Anyway, Shizuka didn't know. And quite frankly, she didn't care. All she wanted was to cherish this rare moment.<p>

She wondered why she never ventured out of her home much before, even back when she was Shinichi. If it weren't for school and crime scenes, he probably would have just stayed inside their house forever and read. Yes, it was fun to read books, especially when they told of fascinating places. But actually seeing beautiful and fascinating places with her own eyes was much more different and felt much more fulfilling. And so she felt very thankful towards Kaito for showing her the city in a new light.

They had just finished flying over the city. Kaito was right, the view from above was also pretty. Plus it was quite interesting to see all the people as small as ants because she and Kaito were so far up.

They had returned to the cliff overlooking the city from earlier to enjoy the view one last time before returning home. However, they were barely inside the city's boundaries when Shizuka suddenly felt danger. She didn't know what could have caused it though and whether she just imagined it or not, but at that moment, Kaito made an abrupt turn on his side. Just a few moments later, she felt him give her a short squeeze through their hands that were still linked. He continued turning their glider to the left side until they ended up flying over the vast forest they just passed.

Shizuka was confused at this. Weren't they about to go home already? So she tried asking him, but she got no response. This made her anxious, but she felt even more worried when she realized that they were slowly losing altitude. She could almost feel her feet touch the top of the trees.

"Kaito? Kaito!" she tried again, to no avail. Was he unconscious? By then, she was starting to panic. She didn't know how to land this thing by herself! She didn't even know when to put her weight on her side to make the thing turn without Kaito telling her to!

As she was panicking, she didn't notice that one of the taller trees in the forest was almost in front of them. By the time she realized this, she could only widen her eyes in horror and wait for the impact.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>My first cliffhanger, I think? I'm sorry! I wanted to write more for this chapter, but I think what I had in mind would fit better with the next one.

I'm also sorry for the crappy crime scene and heist part! I didn't even include a riddle from KID because I'm _that_ horrible at making up riddles and thought-provoking..stuff. But the diamond exists in real life. Google it, it's such a pretty diamond. Or maybe it's because I just like the color blue so much? Haha.

In case someone was wondering about where on earth in the DC universe everything is happening, let us assume that Ekoda is within Beika City. (Because I'm not really sure where Ekoda is. -.-)

BTW. Was anybody confused with the sudden changes in POV in the middle part? Sorry about that. If anybody was confused, just say so. And I'll try to avoid doing sudden changes like that in the following chapters.

A big thanks to **Kaida-14Kage**,** DayDreaming0f y0u**, and **Ahyare Tuarwen** for reviewing the previous chapter!

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please review? Thaaaaank youuuuu! :)


	8. Alive

**Author's Notes: **This chapter's kinda short compared to my previous ones. I'm sorry! But I'll try to make up for it in the following chapters!

Warnings: Female Shinichi, _shounen ai_, AU I think, and OOC-ness.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan in any way.

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><p><strong>Chapter Eight: Alive<strong>

Kaito slowly opened his eyes and was surprised to see a blank white ceiling. The last time he checked, his room's ceiling was a nice shade of blue. So it was probably safe to say that he wasn't in his own room but at the hospital, if the smell of disinfectant and the color of the ceiling were any indication.

He sat up from the bed and winced as he felt a sudden jolt of pain shoot from his right arm. What the hell? What had happened?

* * *

><p><em>Flashback<em>

_He and Shizuka were about to go home already after a visit to the cliff which was his sanctuary, an aerial trip around the city, and one more visit to the cliff. This time, Shizuka already seemed more comfortable with flying in a hang glider, but just to make sure (as she said), she still held on to his hand. But he totally didn't mind. And so one Kuroba Kaito was very very happy._

_Everything seemed alright during the first few minutes of the trip home. But slowly, as time passed, Kaito couldn't help but feel worried. About what exactly, he wasn't so sure. He turned to look at his companion and saw that she still looked cheerful. No point in making her worried and paranoid then, especially now that his plan had been a success. So he tried to brush the feeling away._

_However, as they were about to re-enter the city's boundaries, the worry returned, and this time a hundredfold. For some reason, he had a feeling that something very bad was about to happen. His instincts were suddenly telling him to make a left turn and though he found it somehow weird, he followed it anyway. And once he did, he was very thankful for he heard something whiz past Shizuka. He wasn't sure if she heard it as well, but he was hoping that she didn't._

_Unfortunately, his moment of relief was cut short when he felt something embed itself into his right arm._

'Well shit_,' was his last thought before darkness claimed him._

_End_ _Flashback_

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><p>'<em>What happened after that then?<em>' Kaito thought and racked his brain, to no avail. All he could remember was how excruciatingly painful that shot was; it was so painful that he blacked out after all.

But then what? They were still flying then, so how on earth did they land? How did he get to the hospital? And who the hell shot them?

As he was thinking, he didn't realize that he was no longer alone in the room until he heard a voice say, "Ah, Kuroba. Yer finally awake!"

Kaito turned to look at the doorway and saw Heiji. Not a moment later, Shizuka appeared beside him. He raised his left hand to wave and greet them but before he could do so, he was enveloped in a hug.

He could only blink at first since he was unfamiliar to such a gesture. But when he realized that it was Shizuka hugging him, he couldn't help but blush. When she released him, he saw that her face was a mixture of emotions. The first one he recognized was embarrassment, as well as worry. But above all, there was relief.

There was silence for a while since none of the three teens knew what to say next. Kaito then took the opportunity to observe his two companions. Heiji looked a bit tired, but nothing else seemed wrong with him. Meanwhile, Shizuka looked a bit more haggard and she also had light scratches on her arms and face.

Finally, the silence was broken when Shizuka spoke up, "I..better get home now to tell Auntie that you're awake, Kaito."

The two boys nodded. "Want me ta come with ya'?" Heiji offered.

"No, I'll be fine," she replied, shaking her head. "Just stay here with Kaito for a while."

"Alright, but be sure ta get some rest!"

"I will. Thanks, Heiji." She stopped by the door first before facing the thief and saying, a smile on her lips, "I'm really glad you're awake now, Kaito." With that, she left, not even waiting to hear a reply.

Silence once again prevailed in the room, both boys looking at anything but each other. Kaito eventually broke it upon noticing that Heiji was just standing by the door. "Hattori, why don't you sit down? There's a chair over here," he said and motioned to a chair near his bed.

"Ah. Right," Heiji replied and took the offered seat.

"So.." Kaito started. "What happened?"

He was surprised when he was given a you're-kidding-me face, as if unable to believe that he really didn't know what was going on. Hey, ever since he was shot, he had been out of touch with consciousness. '_He could at least tell me what on earth really happened,_' he thought.

Thankfully, it seemed that Heiji heard his thoughts so the Kansai detective told him what he got from Shizuka, which was basically: she and Kaito went hang gliding last night (apparently the thief had been unconscious for half a day since the incident); something happened to him which made him lose consciousness thus the glider became out of [Shizuka's] control; the glider ended up going back to the forest they had already passed and hit one of the larger tress; by some unknown reason, he woke up and protected Shizuka during their crash and fall to the ground; and only when they were on the ground again did she find out that he had actually been shot in the arm. That was when she called Heiji to help them out and, if possible, come with an ambulance. While waiting for them, she applied first aid to his bullet wound.

After hearing all of this, Kaito's mind dwelled on two things. The first one was that whoever attacked them either didn't find them after the crash or didn't bother anymore, thinking that they didn't survive the accident. Either way, he was thankful that no further harm fell upon him and Shizuka, especially the latter. The second one was that he now knew why his body hurt like hell. It was a miracle that he didn't break any bones during their fall.

He inspected his wounds more carefully, only now noticing the bandages wrapped around both his arms. His left arm was alright; he could move it properly without feeling any pain. Meanwhile, his right arm was in a sling. The bullet must have been taken out already but he could still remember how his arm hurt so much. Even now, actually, he could feel slight pain when he tried to move his injured arm. He hoped there would be no lasting damage because of this incident.

"Kuroba," came Heiji's voice that broke him out of his thoughts. "Do ya' have any idea who could've been behind this?"

Kaito thought for a moment and tried to recall last night's events again. He found it unusual that they were shot before they even reached inside the city. Did that mean they were followed? But how?

When the answer came to him, he couldn't help but smack himself in the head. '_Duh. I was dressed as KID last night, of course I was easy to spot in the night sky with my white outfit,_' he thought. But what about Shizuka? She wasn't wearing clothes that would attract attention. Then how was she seen while they were in the air? And why was she the first one attempted to be shot instead of him?

The more he tried to piece together the things he knew, the more he was horrified at where his train of thought was leading him. When he finally had a possible idea of who could have been behind this attack, he turned to look at Heiji whose expression was serious and lips set in a frown. He nodded when the thief looked at him, as if saying that they were on the same page. At this, Kaito clenched his fist and grit his teeth.

They just couldn't stay out of trouble for even a little while, could they?

* * *

><p>Shizuka arrived at the Kuroba household in good spirits. When she found out that Kaito had finally regained consciousness, she felt as if a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders. And so she immediately told Chikage the good news.<p>

"That's wonderful!" Chikage exclaimed and smiled upon hearing what Shizuka had to say. The teen noticed how the woman's smile looked somewhat tired, so she said, "It is, Auntie. But now that we know that Kaito's alright, why don't you have a rest? You look like you haven't had any proper sleep since last night."

Chikage laughed a little and said, "Well, yes, but I know that you're the same, Shizuka-chan. After all, you stayed with Kai-chan at the hospital all night." She took Shizuka's hands in hers and said gratefully, "Thank you very much."

The teen shook her head and said with a smile, "It was nothing, Auntie. After all, I know he would have done the same thing if he was in my place."

After a few more minutes of small talk, the two went to their own rooms to finally get some well-needed rest.

* * *

><p><em>They were about to go home already after their adventure. Shizuka felt happy and was thankful for the night's events. However, knowing her, Shizuka wouldn't be the same person if nothing unexpected happened. This was one of those times.<em>

_She and Kaito were about to enter the city when she suddenly felt danger. At that moment, Kaito made a sudden left turn and continued turning on his side until they were over the forest they had just passed. They were slowly losing altitude then and what made Shizuka worry even more was that Kaito refused to respond to her calls and shouts, further making her believe that the thief was unconscious._

_When she started to focus her attention on the current situation, that was when she saw the large tree not very far in front of them. Panic taking over, she could only widen her eyes in horror and squeeze Kaito's hand tightly as she waited for the crash._

_..which she never felt. The next thing she knew, the harnesses connecting her to the hang glider were cut but before she could fall, she felt a pair of arms pull her close until she was being embraced tightly._

_Her head was forced downwards, making her see nothing but the person's chest. When they began to fall, she couldn't help but close her eyes shut as she heard various branches cracking and breaking as they made their way to the ground. From time to time, she would hear a hiss of pain or a sharp intake of breath from the person holding her tightly, which she now realized to be Kaito. But even if he was feeling pain from all the scratches he received, not once did his arms loosen or let go of her. In fact, he held her even closer and tightened his embrace even more, as if he was holding onto dear life itself._

_They finally reached the ground with a loud thud, Kaito's bottom hitting first. What Shizuka thought would be a horrible drop through the air didn't happen since the tree's branches slowed down and even somehow broke their fall._

_Turning her attention to her companion, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh in relief. '_We're both alive,_' was her first thought._

_She was about to inquire about Kaito's well-being when he suddenly spoke up. "Are you..alright..?" he asked in a weak voice._

_Almost instantly, Shizuka felt her heart throb painfully in her chest. In the entirety of her friendship with Kaito (including the times she pursued him as KID), she had never seen him look so..vulnerable, unlike now. Still, she knew that he was trying to put up a brave front, and she couldn't help but feel both admiration and irritation at his stubbornness._

_"You idiot," she remarked in a half-serious, half-joking manner. "Look at yourself first before worrying about me."_

_"But I feel fi-" His words were cut off with another hiss of pain when he tried to sit up properly from his current position. Shizuka immediately tried to help him up and support him._

_"Thanks.." Kaito said as he relaxed a bit, now leaning on the tree that saved their lives. In front of him was Shizuka in a kneeling position, watching his every move and assisting him with moving, if necessary._

_She was about to start inspecting his body for any wounds or injuries but he stopped her, pressing, "I told you, I'm..fine. What I want to know is if _you're _alright."_

_At this, she couldn't help but feel a bit touched at his concern, but she also felt exasperated at his disregard for his own well-being. She sighed, "Alright. If it's what'll make you stop worrying about me and start worrying about yourself, yes, I'm fine. Nothing broken or anything. You saved me, after all." She said the last part in an affectionate and gentle manner._

_"That's..good," Kaito replied and raised his right hand to touch her cheek. "I told you, didn't I? That..I'll protect you?"_

_It was then that Shizuka realized something was wrong. Was it because Kaito's breathing was becoming shallower? Or that his eyes were slowly closing? Or that his hand on her cheek somehow felt sticky? She touched his hand with hers and was horrified to see that something dark now stained her hand when she pulled away. There was insufficient light where they were, but she had a vague idea what that dark stain was. However, she was still hoping that she was wrong. She removed his hand from her face to inspect his arm more carefully, quickly apologizing when she heard him wince at her action._

_When she finally saw the bullet wound, she bit her lip and fought the urge to reprimand him for not telling her earlier that he had been _shot_, for God's sake. Instead, she quickly whipped out her phone to ask for help, Heiji being the first person who came to mind. After a short conversation with him wherein she emphasized that time was of utmost importance, she put her phone away and tried her best to give first aid while waiting for help to come._

_After checking his pulse and breathing, she applied direct pressure and elevated the arm to control the bleeding. When that was done, she also made sure that he didn't have any other serious wounds._

_She moved beside him to rest her back on the same tree and held his hand tightly. While waiting, every minute that ticked by felt like an eternity to Shizuka. Many worries crossed her mind, such whether Heiji and help would ever find them or if Kaito would even reach the nearest hospital alive. But she tried her best to shake away all the worry and anxiousness eating at her; these kinds of thoughts weren't what they needed right now after all. She just talked aloud about random things even if Kaito wouldn't be able to respond because he was sleeping._

_She closed her eyes for a moment, wishing that when she opened them, they would be at a hospital already. But when she did, she was dismayed to see the same darkness around them. At least Kaito was still here, still alive and breathing, judging from the rise and fall of his chest that she felt then._

_Shizuka stayed silent for a while, not knowing what else to say anymore. She couldn't talk about staying positive despite their situation because honestly, she herself was already slowly losing hope. At this thought, she couldn't help but heave a sigh._

_Just then, she felt a hand squeeze hers, the first response she got ever since she applied first aid to his wounds._

_"Kaito, you're awake now?"_

_"Mmm."_

_"Ah. That's good. But don't talk yet, especially if you're not yet really able to, alright?"_

_"Mmm."_

_A short pause, and then, "Does it still hurt?"_

_She got no response, but she continued anyway. "Listen, Kaito. I'm..sorry.. I've been giving you nothing but trouble lately. I haven't even thanked you properly for everything that you've been doing for me.."_

_She trailed off and there was silence once again until she spoke up, this time with slight hesitation, "Kaito, do you think..we'll ever get out of here? Do you think..Heiji will even find us?"_

_She got another squeeze of the hand in reply. This time, it was for a longer time and with a firmer grasp. There were no words said but strangely enough, she felt comforted already by that one simple action._

_"You're right. I'm sorry I even thought of such a thing," she said apologetically, having the sudden urge to hit herself. "Let's just trust Heiji and wait for him. We'll get out of here..soon enough..I hope.." She added, "Just promise me one thing though.__"_

_A pause, as if telling her to go on. So she did. "Don't die on me, Kaito," she said seriously but at the same time, sounding as if she was pleading. Her hand was squeezed again in reply._

_With that, she closed her eyes once again, this time smiling. And so they lay there, side by side and with their heads together, all the while their hands still linked._

* * *

><p>Shizuka opened her eyes slowly. She was now in bed at her temporary room at the Kuroba household. Did that mean everything that happened last night was just a dream?<p>

..no. It felt too real to only be a dream. She remembered her fright at riding a hang glider for the first time, which was then replaced with exhilaration as they flew above the city and enjoyed the sights. She also remembered that horrible moment when she felt Kaito's blood on her face and her hand. Many unpleasant things crossed her mind then, and she was grateful that none of those scenarios happened. And most of all, she remembered how those arms of his protected her and how he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze to tell her that everything would be alright.

True enough, everything had indeed been alright. Heiji found them, Kaito was brought to the hospital in time, the bullet was taken out safely, but the most important thing was that they were both _alive_. Never had she been more thankful for that.

But then she wondered who shot the thief. Surely it couldn't have been pure coincidence that someone was outside the city at that time as well. So did that mean they were followed? By who?

'_Ah. This is just making my head hurt. I better take a shower first,_' she thought and proceeded to take a bath to relax a little and wash away all the dirt and grime from the previous night's events.

By the time she finished showering and returned to her room, she was surprised to find two people there.

"Kaito, Heiji, why are you guys here already?" she asked, clearly surprised.

* * *

><p>Kaito thought about it long and hard enough, and he finally decided to tell Shizuka what he and Heiji discussed earlier. She had the right to know after all, even if he knew that it would just add to her ever-growing list of problems and worries.<p>

So he asked Heiji to take him home since he was already feeling fine anyway. Well, except for his right arm which still needed to be in a sling and still hurt a little if moved too much, but he was sure the pain would go away soon. Heiji wasn't convinced easily though. But after a little more persuasion, the Kansai detective finally relented and let the thief do as he wished.

Which was why they were now in Shizuka's temporary room at the Kuroba household, the two boys sitting on the bed and staring at the newly-entered owner of the room.

Who happened to be in just a towel.

Both boys immediately blushed and tried to look away. Keyword: tried. Kaito failed spectacularly since he simply couldn't help but _stare_, especially at how the water dripped slowly from her hair to the pale skin of her neck, down to her shoulders..

Kaito willed himself to stop his thoughts right there before his imagination ran even further. Thankfully, Heiji decided it was time to inform the girl who was still oblivious to her lack of clothing.

"Uh. Ku- Shizuka, we'll be steppin' out fer a while. Just call us when yer done..uh..changin'," he said and went out the door, dragging Kaito behind him.

Once the door was closed behind them, what followed was a sound that they hadn't heard in quite some time from the teen detective: a horrified female scream.

Despite himself, Kaito couldn't help but grin. It was moments like these that made him forget even for a while all the seriousness life had to offer them.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>So.. Not much happened. I'm sorry again. TT^TT Things will pick up in the next chapter though. I just wanted to get the scenarios in my head over with. Hehe.

A big thanks to **Kaida-14Kage**, **DayDreaming0f y0u**, **Hattori Sei**, and **Alaena F. Dragonstar** for reviewing the previous chapter! I want to hug you people. XD

I hope you guys enjoyed this even though it's not much. Please review? :) Thank youuuuu! :D

I'll try to update again soon. In the meantime, Advanced Merry Christmas to everybody! I hope you'll all enjoy the holidays! ^^


	9. Back to What?

**Author's Notes:** Because of how this chapter ended up, I feel the need to say this: Don't worry. This is definitely KaiShin. I'm just..still working on it. XD

Thank you for all the new alerts and favorites! Also, a big thank you to **DayDreaming0f y0u**, **Shimizu Hikaru**, and **purplebunny93** for reviewing the previous chapter! I realized it must have been weird that I kept putting the thank yous at the end of the chapters. Hehe.

_purplebunny93: Aww. Thanks! For some reason, I like genderbender stuff too. XD Don't worry. Sometimes I enjoy putting Shinichi/Shizuka in awkward moments where he becomes embarrassed anyway. Hahaha. But I hope he doesn't become too OOC though. Anyway, thank you for the review! :)_

Warnings: Female Shinichi, _shounen ai_, AU I think, and OOC-ness.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan in any way.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nine: Back to What?<strong>

In Shizuka's room, the three teens were once again assembled. This time, the owner of the room was fully-clothed, though she was still red in the face from embarrassment. She took a deep breath and tried to forget what happened, wishing that the two would forget it as well, or at least try to.

Anyway, they were probably here to talk about something important, especially since Kaito wasn't really supposed to be out of the hospital yet. So she stayed silent first and waited for them to get down to business. The two took that as the cue to begin.

"Shizuka," Kaito started. "You remember what happened last night, right?" She nodded in response. "Do you have any idea who could have been behind it?"

This time, she shook her head and said, "I was thinking about that just a while ago actually, but nobody came to mind yet."

Heiji then spoke up, "Alright. Ya' see, Kuroba an' I talked a bit earlier an' we sorta' have an idea, though we're not yet too sure."

"Who do you think it is?" she asked, her voice somewhat rising.

The two boys looked at each other and nodded before Heiji continued, "We think it's the Black Organization."

A sudden silence as Shizuka tried to process that bit of information.

..but of course. Who else could it have been after all? She really wanted to hit herself then. How could she even forget the organization that she vowed to bring down? The organization that turned her into a kid at first and most recently, into a female version of her former self? The same organization that killed Kaito's dad?

And now they were back to hunting him down again. She felt a little relieved since it seemed that they didn't know of her identity yet, but at the same time, she felt scared because they were _so _close to fulfilling their goal of eliminating the thief last night. She hoped a close call like that wouldn't happen again.

But now what? She could tell Kaito to take a break from being KID, at least until he was completely recovered. As for Heiji and her, the organization didn't know their faces so they were somehow safe. However, it wouldn't be like them to just hide from the Black Organization; they needed to do something, damn it! They couldn't just let these guys roam freely. Who knows how many other people could become their victims? If only they left behind some sort of clue..

'_That's it!_' Shizuka thought excitedly. '_They must have left some kind of clue at the forest last night, hopefully._'

So she asked her two companions about this, to which Heiji shook his head. "No good. While we were at the hospital, I asked the police officers ta search the forest, but they found nothin' suspicious."

"But-" She suddenly stood up from her seat but her retort was cut off when Kaito spoke up, "You know how they are, Shizuka. They make sure not to leave any evidence behind that would eventually lead to them."

At this, she sank back on the bed, feeling dejected. '_Well there goes an option out the window._' She took a deep breath to clear her thoughts then asked, "Then what do you propose we do now? Just sit back and wait for them to pop up again?"

Both boys nodded, at which Shizuka let out a frustrated sigh.

"Look, Ku- Shizuka. We dun' like bein' idle too, especially when it comes ta _them_, but I dun' think we have much of a choice, 'specially since Kuroba's still injured an' all," Heiji said.

She looked at the thief who shrugged and nodded at Heiji's words. Of course, he was injured all because of her after all. "Right. Sorry.." she said in a small voice and put her head down.

"Hey now," Heiji said as he moved to sit beside her on the bed and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't be like this. We said so before, remember? We'll be here ta help ya' out, always."

"That's right!" Kaito chirped and sat on her other side. But instead of putting a hand on her other shoulder, he opted for ruffling her hair instead.

At this, Shizuka raised her head and looked back and forth between her two friends who both gave her reassuring smiles. She really couldn't believe how she came to have such amazing people as friends, but nevertheless, she was very thankful for them.

She put both her hands around their shoulders and pressed their heads together, saying, "Thank you. I love you guys."

She felt the two tense a little at her words. Out of surprise, perhaps? Well, she didn't know where that really came from as well, but she just felt the need to thank them for everything they had done for her so far. '_They might not get a repeat of this so they better appreciate this moment now,_' she thought, now feeling embarrassed.

When she felt them relax, she released them and started talking about other topics that were less serious. One such topic was what on earth happened to Saguru during the heist. Heiji described the state in which he found the foreign detective last night while they were chasing the thief. While he was talking, he, as well as Shizuka, were looking at who they deemed to be the culprit. In his defense, Kaito said that Saguru must be used to his pranks already so there was really no harm done. Unfortunately for him, this did not prevent him from being reprimanded by Shizuka. She even told him to apologize if he saw him again. Meanwhile, Heiji listened on, an amused expression on his face.

* * *

><p>Kaito returned to work the next day. Technically, it was his day off then, but he said that it was to make up for his sudden absence the previous day. At first, the management didn't want him to work again yet but he insisted.<p>

And so, exactly a week after the incident, here he was being a cashier, bored out of his mind. He wondered if he should try persuading a co-worker to switch roles with him even for a while, but then decided against it. Both of them might just get in trouble if their manager found out, after all. Though he wouldn't mind, he didn't think his co-worker would appreciate it much.

So he just sat there and sighed for the nth time that day, sorely missing doing something more exciting than punching numbers into the cash register and handling customers' money. He felt even more bored because it was Shizuka's day off. He hoped something interesting would happen soon though.

* * *

><p>Just like before, he got his wish. However, the only difference was that it took a bit longer for his awaited interesting event to happen. That and he didn't think it would be an event that he wouldn't want.<p>

His shift had just ended then and he had just exited their shop when he saw a crowd of people not far off. To satisfy his curiosity, he approached and joined the crowd. He gently pushed the people he passed and mumbled an "Excuse me" from time to time until he was in front enough to see what was happening.

Well, whatever it was that happened, he must have already missed the interesting part since all he could see now was a couple of police officers taking away a handcuffed man and blood stain on the ground. He let his eyes roam the scene a bit more until he saw the familiar mop of brunette hair that he expected to find. He grinned and was about to make his way to the person when somebody beat him to it: a brown blonde boy around the same age as him.

Almost immediately, he stopped in his tracks and just watched as the two conversed. Unfortunately, he was too far away to hear whatever it was that they were talking about, but he could see that Saguru was smiling while Shizuka looked somewhat embarrassed and even bowed a few times.

After a few more minutes, the crowd slowly dissipated until it was only Kaito who remained standing there. It was also then that the two people he was observing started walking away, still talking.

Kaito silently followed them, all the while narrowing his eyes at Saguru's back. '_Since when did these two become close?_' he thought, irritated. The first and last time he saw them together was during his most recent heist. While disguised as one of the guards, he saw how Saguru introduced himself to Shizuka and Heiji, and even went as far as kissing the former's hand.

'_He got his well-deserved punishment afterwards though,_' Kaito thought, smirking at the memory of the pink paint, glitters, feathers, and cotton. But his smirk soon turned into a scowl as he continued narrowing his eyes at the foreign detective who was still walking with Shizuka.

'_Damn it. Where are they going?_'

He received his answer when the duo he was following eventually stopped in front of a fancy restaurant inside the mall. He wondered what they would be doing there but merely watched as Saguru led her inside.

At this, Kaito narrowed his eyes further. Consequences be damned, he was going to find out what was going on, and he was going to find out _now_.

* * *

><p>Saguru had the feeling that he was being watched, and whoever that person was did not seem to have good intentions. He just shrugged the feeling away and tried to focus on the situation at hand, or more specifically, the brunette girl in front of him.<p>

They were currently inside a restaurant in the mall that he would frequent. He was glad that he managed to make her come with him, though it needed a few minutes of persuasion.

To be honest, the only reason he was doing this was because she intrigued him. He was sure that she knew about KID and Kaito being the same person, and he was curious as to what their relationship was for her to know about that.

There had been an awkward silence since they sat down and ordered, and Saguru felt the need to break it.

"So, Shizuka-kun," he started, folding his hands together on the table in front of him. "Can you tell me a bit more about yourself?"

She raised an eyebrow at his question and gave him a suspicious stare which he just brushed off. She then seemed to think first before replying, "I'm a detective."

This time, it was his turn to raise an eyebrow. "Yes, I figured as much since you were at a KID heist the other night and you didn't express admiration for him, unlike what usually happens when there is a female on the scene."

Shizuka narrowed her eyes at him and said, her tone trying to sound even, "Are you implying that it was only either I was a detective or a KID fangirl? That I couldn't be a detective who was interested in KID without being his fan?"

"So you _are_ interested in him." It was a statement and not a question, at which she suddenly became quiet. So he continued talking, "But don't you find it irrational? You're a detective yet you're fascinated by a thief. Shouldn't you be working to put him behind bars? How can you be so sure that your interest in him won't cloud your judgment when it comes to doing what's right?"

"How do we even know what is really right?" came her reply. She looked at him steadily as she continued, "Also, please don't speak as if you know the whole story or that you know me very well."

Saguru couldn't help but smile a little at that. The girl before him was interesting, alright. He'd never met a girl like her who could talk like that to him.

"I apologize," he said sincerely. "I didn't mean to offend you in any way."

She nodded but said nothing, still looking steadily at him. He contemplated on what to say next. It would probably be more difficult to make her open up now, especially regarding her relationship with Kaito.

Thankfully, their food arrived then, providing a well-timed icebreaker. Once everything was set before them, Saguru unfolded his table napkin and put it on his lap, waiting for Shizuka to do the same. When she refused to move, he asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"No, I just.." she said, this time looking unsure and a little embarrassed.

He had a feeling he knew what she wanted to say, which was probably related to what she was apologizing for when he approached her earlier. He said reassuringly, "Don't worry. I told you this will be my treat, and I'm definitely alright with that."

She still looked a bit hesitant but when he raised an eyebrow at her, she sighed and finally gave in. With that, they ate dinner.

While eating, Saguru opted for small talk, such as Shizuka's likes and dislikes. It was then that he found out that, like him, she liked Sherlock Holmes. They spent quite some time talking about this topic, sometimes even arguing and having discussions about a story or about a certain method the detective used. Needless to say, Shizuka finally somehow relaxed in Saguru's presence, and he was glad for that.

In the middle of eating dessert, a young woman from the table next to them dropped her fork. Since it landed near him, he bent downward to pick it up and handed it to her, saying, "Miss, you dropped this."

She smiled sweetly at him, sounding grateful when she said, "Thank you so much." However, her hand that was grasping Saguru's which was holding the fork said otherwise. Her hold on him was tight and was already becoming painful until she finally let go. Saguru held his abused hand, looking curiously at the woman who remained smiling sweetly as she returned to her meal.

When he returned his attention to his companion who actually witnessed the entire exchange, she asked, "What was _that_ about?"

"I don't know as well, actually."

"You alright though?"

"Yeah.."

The rest of dessert was spent in silence.

When they were done, Saguru paid for their meals and volunteered to escort Shizuka home. She refused and refused at first but he kept on insisting so eventually, she gave in.

As they were walking together, Saguru asked, "So, where do you live?"

"With Kaito."

His eyebrows shot upwards at this. Shizuka noticed and hastily explained, "Um. I'm a family friend. My parents decided to move to Japan and sent me here first. But since we don't have a place here yet, I'm staying with Kaito's family for now."

He seemed thoughtful for a moment and said, "Hmm. That's unusual. Kuroba-kun never mentioned you before."

"I..It was only our parents who were friends at first. We just became friends as well when I started staying with them at the beginning of the month."

"Ah. That makes sense."

A pause in the conversation once again. Saguru took this opportunity to think things over.

Shizuka seemed a bit hesitant with her answers, so there was a good chance that she was lying. If so, why was she lying? Was she trying to hide something? What could that something be?

"Wait," he said after some time. "You said 'for now'. Do you mean that you're going to have your own place soon?"

"Well, sort of. I'm planning to move to an apartment when I earn enough money because I don't want to be much of a burden to Kaito's family."

Saguru noted the omission of suffix to the name again, implying that they were close. So they probably knew each other before the supposed 'moving to Japan', since as far as he knew, two people could not become very close in almost just a month, especially if one of them was Kaito. Sure the magician was really friendly, but he rarely, if never, formed deep friendships with other people. Well, that was how he knew him anyway.

He snapped out of his thoughts when they stopped and he heard Shizuka say, "We're here already."

Sure enough, they were already outside the Kuroba household. The night wasn't very deep yet, but the lights inside the house were already on.

"Well.." Shizuka started, looking unsure of what to say or do next. "Thanks for dinner, and for taking me home."

"It was my pleasure," Saguru replied and smiled. For a moment, he saw her give him a suspicious stare, as if she was expecting him to do something she deemed weird. She probably thought he was going to kiss her hand again. He chuckled at that. "Don't worry. I won't do it anymore if you're uncomfortable with it." She heaved a sigh of relief and he couldn't help but wonder if it was really weird of him to do that, or was she the only one who thought so?

Anyway, it was time for him to get home so he bowed and said farewell. As he was walking away, the corner of his lips turned upwards into a smile. Kaede Shizuka proved to be a much more interesting person than he thought. He should probably drop by the shop more often.

* * *

><p>"I'm home!" Shizuka called out once she stepped inside.<p>

Surprisingly, today had been a tiring day. All she wanted was to relax and spend her day off at the mall, but she totally didn't expect to have to solve a crime scene there. '_Actually, I _should have_ expected that,_' she thought, remembering all the times she would 'randomly' encounter dead bodies. Looks like she was still a magnet for such things despite turning into a girl.

Normally, solving a crime scene wouldn't exhaust her, but it was unexpectedly meeting with Saguru that did. She couldn't bring herself to relax around him, lest he find out her true identity. It didn't help when she accidentally blurted out an apology upon seeing him. '_I just had to remember then what KID did to him the other night; he's not supposed to know that KID and Kaito are the same person. In fact, the same goes for me,_' she thought and sighed. It was a good thing she was able to make up another reason for apologizing. She wasn't sure if he really bought it, but at least he stopped questioning her.

From there, she didn't know how she ended up eating in a restaurant with him. '_Something must be wrong with me._' Well, at least it was his treat; she was saving every cent she was earning after all.

When she realized she had been thinking perhaps a bit too much about the brown-blonde boy, she shook her head to clear it of thoughts of him. '_Yep, something must indeed be wrong with me._'

She was still by the door then. As she was removing her shoes, Chikage stepped out of the kitchen and greeted her. "Welcome back, Shizuka-chan! How was your day?"

"It was..um..fine," she replied, a bit uncertain.

"Have you eaten already?"

"Yes. How about you, Auntie?"

Chikage's face showed a disheartened expression, but she quickly replaced it with a smile. "Actually, not yet. But don't worry, I'll be alright."

Shizuka immediately felt guilty. '_She must have been waiting so we could all eat together,_' she thought. But then she remembered their third companion. "Where's Kaito?"

"He arrived a short while ago. He said he had eaten already as well so he's now in his room."

"Oh. Alright." Shizuka then smiled at Chikage and said, "Auntie, you go head back into the kitchen. I'll just get changed and follow."

The woman looked confused for a moment. "I thought you said you already ate?"

"Well, yes, but I could still keep you company as you eat, right?"

Chikage's eyes softened and she smiled gratefully, "Thank you, Shizuka-chan."

"You're welcome, Auntie! I'll be right back." With that, she went upstairs and into her room.

Once she was done changing, she decided to drop by Kaito's room for a while and ask him if he wanted to join them. She knocked on his door and called out, "Hey, Kaito. Want to join us downstairs?"

She received no reply, but the door opened by a fraction so she took this as a sign that she could go in.

However, she had just entered the room when the door was suddenly shut behind her. Surprised, she looked back and once she was looking in front once again, Kaito was standing before her with a serious expression on his face. Feeling a bit bothered by this, Shizuka asked worriedly, "What's up, Kaito? Is there anything wrong?"

He gave a small smile and said, "Nah, not really. How about you? Did you enjoy your dinner with Hakuba-kun?"

Surprised that he knew about it, she asked, "How..did you know?"

He just shrugged and replied, "I saw you two in a restaurant when I was about to go home." He was grinning slightly but Shizuka felt that something was wrong.

"Y-yeah.." she said uncertainly. "He treated me to dinner and took me home."

"How sweet of him. Any idea why he did those?" His tone was obviously sarcastic and Shizuka didn't understand why. Still, she opted for telling the truth anyway.

"Well, I accidentally apologized to him for that stunt you pulled on him during your recent heist." She noticed that Kaito's eyes widened at this so she quickly added, "Don't worry, I managed to get around it by inventing some other reason for apologizing." He sighed in relief so she continued, "But he said that he'll only forgive me if I let him treat me to dinner. I didn't really want to but I kind of just went along with what he wanted just to get things over with."

After hearing this, Kaito stayed silent for a while, absorbing the information. After a few moments, was it just Shizuka or did he really become a bit..happier? His smile now was more genuine compared to earlier and his eyes seemed to have that familiar twinkle of mischief again.

"Oh. Alright," he chirped and bounced to the door, holding it open for her. "You asked if I wanted to join you and Mom downstairs, right? Let's go!"

Before he was able to step out the door, Shizuka held his wrist, making him stop. Kaito looked at her, a bit surprised at the sudden action. Meanwhile, she just looked at him steadily, still feeling bothered by the sudden change in his demeanor.

Just as she was about to ask him again if anything was wrong, she shook her head and released Kaito's wrist. '_I'm not in any position to question him. Besides, if he has any problems, he'd tell me himself, right?_' With that thought, she spoke up with a smile, "Nothing. Never mind." She then headed out the door and downstairs, leaving behind a baffled thief.

* * *

><p>In the kitchen, Chikage was already drying her hands with a towel when the two teens approached her. In answer to Shizuka's curious looks between her and the empty dining table, she said, "Sorry, Shizuka-chan. I thought you were so tired that you already fell asleep so I went ahead and ate anyway."<p>

"Ah, no. _I'm_ sorry, Auntie," she replied apologetically and bowed. "I just talked with Kaito a little before going downstairs; I didn't think we'd take so long."

Chikage glanced at her son who just shrugged. She sat on a chair anyway and motioned for the two to do the same, which they obeyed. She said, "It's alright. But since we're all here already, there was something I wanted to tell you both."

Both teens leaned in closer and started listening intently. She just smiled and continued, "But before that, how did your day go, both of you? You said you ate dinner already; did you eat together?"

Shizuka shook her head and replied, "No, I was with Saguru-kun."

Chikage raised her eyebrow at this and looked again at Kaito, who was now looking away and scowling. She couldn't help but be amused at her son's reaction though. She turned to Shizuka and asked, her tone teasing, "Really? How did you find him then?"

"Hmm? Well, he's alright, I guess. Very polite and gentlemanly." She trailed off, but when she said the next few words, she sounded more excited and happy. "And he likes Sherlock Holmes too! It was interesting to talk to him about that."

Chikage blinked. Was this serious? Did this teen really not hear her teasing tone earlier? No wonder all the boys were having such a hard time with her! She didn't expect the teen to be so..oblivious and naive when it came to these things though.

Meanwhile, she just watched as Kaito simply stared. He probably also couldn't believe the things that Shizuka said. However, knowing her son, Chikage was sure that he was now thinking of ways to 'punish' Saguru for things he didn't exactly have any control over. Poor boy. She should probably invite him over some time, at least just to assure him that there was still one person in the Kuroba family who wasn't all tricks..somehow.

Seeing Kaito scowling more and more, Chikage finally decided to break her news to take his mind off the current topic. "Anyway, there was something I was supposed to tell you about, right?" Both teens, now looking serious, nodded so she continued, "Well, I talked to Yukiko and Yuusaku recently and we all agreed that despite all the things you have to do, these being looking for clues about and hunting down the Black Organization, your education is still important."

The two nodded once again. "So, we decided to enroll you both in one school, in Teitan High School, to be more precise."

A sudden pause. Then there was an exclamation of two different voices with two different reactions.

"_WHAT?_"

"Cool!"

Shizuka looked at Kaito who just grinned and shrugged. Chikage could feel his elation at the news and couldn't help but smile as well. Unfortunately, Shizuka was another story.

"But why there? My friends are there! What if they recognize me? I would have been alright with transferring to Kaito's school.. Wait, come to think of it, why does Kaito have to transfer schools?"

And so on and so forth. Chikage just blinked again while Kaito stared again. The woman figured the same thought was probably running through their heads then: '_When did she become..like this?_' She couldn't help but wonder if the teen's personality was slowly changing because of the transformation.

Nevertheless, she tried to answer the questions of Shizuka who still seemed distressed over the news.

"Shizuka-chan," she said in a reassuring tone. "Calm down, ok? I'll try to get to your questions one by one." The teen nodded so she continued, "You see, the three of us, your parents and I, decided that if you would be going back to school, what better place than the one where you have been studying at before? Besides, we're sure nobody would recognize you. After all, you did explain properly to your friends that 'Shinichi' won't be around for a while, right?"

Shizuka paused for a moment and replied with an uncertain, "I think so..?" Chikage raised her eyebrow at this but did not comment on it. Instead, she continued her explanation, "As for why Kai-chan's transferring, we figured that it would be easier for you to work on finding the organization if your schedules were more similar. And if you're in the same place."

The teen seemed to be thinking it over first before she finally sighed and said reluctantly, "Alright.. So 'Shizuka' just has to 'transfer' to Teitan High School, right?"

"Oh, no! Don't worry. Everything has already been finalized as of yesterday. Same goes for you, Kai-chan," Chikage said as she turned to her son. "Both of you are now officially new students of the school. You'll have your uniforms by Monday."

She was puzzled when both teens just stared at her. Did she seem a bit too excited for them? Well, she wouldn't deny that. Even Yukiko was excited too, when they got to talk about it on the phone the other day.

"So, Mom," came Kaito's voice that snapped her out of her thoughts. "Was all of this planned by you and Shizuka's parents?"

Oops. It must have been too obvious from her excitement, but she wouldn't admit the truth yet. "Of course not! We just ended up talking about your education the other day, and we thought that this would be the best course of action." Okay, not the whole truth, at least. "Besides, Shizuka-chan, didn't you go back to school as well when you were Conan?" she added.

Shizuka grimaced at the memory and slowly nodded. '_She must have not liked it very much. Though lessons were very much easier, it must have bothered her so much because she had to relearn everything,_' Chikage thought, feeling sorry for the teen. '_Well at least this time she'll be with her peers of the same age._'

"Wait," Shizuka said. "What about my papers and supposed school records and stuff?"

"All taken care of!" Chikage chirped. Shizuka groaned in defeat and buried her face in her hands, but Chikage still smiled. The woman then glanced at Kaito, who still looked too happy. She sent him a sharp look that said, '_Don't mess up now._' The thief, on his part, looked a bit surprised at his mother's message but nodded in understanding, though he looked a bit embarrassed.

"Now then," Chikage said and stood up from her chair, continuing speaking once again once she had their attention. "It's getting late so we better get some rest. Not to mention you both have to start preparing for school!"

She got two puzzled looks in return. "..didn't you know that school starts next week already?" she asked.

A short pause and then 'oh's of realization. When the message seemed to have _really _sunk in, Kaito and Shizuka had looks of surprise and..was that a bit of horror that Chikage saw? She just shook her head and sighed, thinking, '_Seriously, these kids._'

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>Sorry, seemed like a stupid part to end the chapter. But I just wasn't sure how to. D:

I wasn't sure about how Saguru's speech should be. More respectful or polite? Should his speech even be different from the others? Anyway, what do you guys think about how I did it here? :D

I'm not sure if anybody cares about this but I just wanted to say it anyway. Hehe. I arranged all that has happened so far into a sort-of calendar and I realized that I was able to fit everything into a month! But then when I researched the start of classes in Japan, I read that there's only around two weeks of vacation for students before the school year starts in April. Well that sucks. -_- Anyway, I still say that all that has happened so far was in March, and I'll be following the calendar for next year for dates and stuff, though I won't be exactly assigning an exact date for all the events that will take place in the following chapters. /endofbabbling :))

Um. That's it for now, I guess. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please review? :3 Thank youuuuu! :) And Happy New Year everyone! ^^


	10. Broken

**Author's Notes: **I'm sorry it took so long! Again! TT^TT And oh my God. So much words. I'm sorry. O.O Um. Let's just say it's to apologize for the long wait? Hehe.

Anyway, thank you for the new alerts and favorites! And a big big thank you to **DayDreaming0f y0u**, **AshTro**, and **Alaena F. Dragonstar** for reviewing the previous chapter! :) I honestly thought nobody was reading this anymore. But then I read your reviews. *sobs* Thank you again! *bows*

_AshTro: Aww. Thank you very much! And same here. Haha. XD_

Warnings: Female Shinichi, _shounen ai_, AU I think, and OOC-ness.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan in any way.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Ten: Broken<strong>

It was the first day of classes for the school year. Mouri Ran had just sat on her chair when her best friend, Suzuki Sonoko, approached her, bringing some news.

"Hey, Ran!" she greeted and sat on the edge of her friend's desk. "Have you heard already? Apparently, we're going to have a few new students in our class!"

Ran looked surprised for a moment. It wasn't exactly unnatural to have transfer students at Teitan High School; what she found odd was that why these students moved to a different school for their _last _ year in high school.

'_Well, whatever,_' she thought and mentally shrugged. '_It was their choice after all._'

They continued chatting about these new students. However, it turned out that Sonoko didn't know much about them as well; she had just heard the news from a few of their classmates. Still, she sounded quite excited, saying, "I hope at least one of them's a hot guy!" At this, Ran just smiled good-naturedly as her friend sighed dreamily.

Soon, the talk turned to what they had been up to this past spring break.

"So Kudou-kun went off somewhere again, huh?" Sonoko said, letting her irritation color her words. "What did I tell you about him? You should just give up on him completely! If only I had the same level of karate skills as you, _I _would have beaten him senseless for leaving you all the time!" At this, she made the motion of cracking her knuckles and glared at no one in particular, or probably an imaginary Shinichi.

Ran felt a bit touched at her best friend's concern for her, but she believed there was no need to beat him up, even if he deserved it. Besides, she remembered taking Sonoko's advice, the one she told her before spring break began. She felt embarrassed talking about it, but she still wanted to let her best friend know.

Just as she was about to tell her story, the bell rang and their homeroom teacher entered the room. All the students began taking their proper seats, even Sonoko, so Ran just reminded herself to tell her story during the break.

"Good morning, class," their homeroom teacher started. There was a general murmur in reply. He continued, "It's the beginning of your last year in high school. But before everything else, I would like to introduce to you three new students who will be with us this year." He turned to the door and said, "Please join us."

Ran's eyes widened in surprise at the mention of _three_ new students. Looks like this was going to be a year unlike any other.

The first transfer student entered the room and Ran couldn't help but open her mouth in shock. Even when the student had already introduced himself and bowed to the class, she still couldn't believe what her eyes were seeing. It was only when said student greeted her when he walked towards his seat (which was near her) that she finally convinced herself that this was real.

"Yo, Mouri-han!" he greeted as he finally took his seat.

Ran could only slightly smile and raise a hand tentatively in greeting at the familiar dark-skinned detective. '_What on earth is Hattori-kun doing here?_' she thought, feeling confused. On the seat next to her, Sonoko had the same puzzled look.

However, the surprises didn't end there. If Ran's mouth was slightly open in shock upon seeing Heiji, this time she could almost feel her jaw dropping on the floor when she saw the second student.

At first glance, he looked exactly the same as the person she had in mind. But when she looked more closely, she noticed that there were actually a few differences. For one thing, this boy before all of them had a messy mop of hair that looked like any comb or brush that would even attempt to tame it would lose hands down. Another difference she noticed was the eyes. Though she wasn't sitting at the very front rows, she could still see that this person's eyes had a more violet hue and a twinkle of mischief. And the last thing was the way he carried himself; it just felt too..different from the person she was thinking of, to her, at least.

'_Besides,_' she mused. 'He _isn't exactly a new student, is he?_'

When the boy introduced himself, there was a collective gasp from the class, at which Ran just sighed. '_What, were they expecting him to say he was Shinichi?_' she thought incredulously.

As if to give proof that he was not who the class was thinking, the boy spread out his arms and almost instantly, the room was engulfed in white smoke. (Near her, Ran could hear someone sighing. Was it Heiji?) Somebody opened the windows to let the smoke out and when it cleared, everybody was surprised to find their hair styles not quite like before.

Most of the guys suddenly had their hair stuck up in all directions and painted in neon colors. Meanwhile, most of the girls' hair became rainbow-colored afros. Others had silly-looking pigtails with lots and lots of ribbons.

While everyone was freaking out about what happened, Ran touched her own hair and tried to assess the damage done. To her surprise, hers was only up in a ponytail. It also looked like the color was still the same. She let her gaze wander around the room only to see that aside from her, only Heiji didn't have a drastic hair style change.

She looked at the magician and for a moment, their eyes met. She sent him a look that asked, '_Why?_' but he just shrugged and grinned.

The homeroom teacher, who also fell victim to the prank, was still not himself so the magician proceeded and took a seat diagonally behind Heiji's left, which happened to be a window seat.

Ran replayed his name in her mind. '_Kuroba Kaito,_' she thought to herself. For some reason, she felt the need to keep the name in mind.

The class was still fussing but when the door opened a third time to reveal their last new classmate, silence settled over the room as every eye was focused on the girl who entered, even Ran. She didn't know why but when the new girl entered the room, she already felt a sense of familiarity. Had they met already before?

When the girl finally faced the class, there was only one name on Ran's lips as she stared the the girl's impossibly blue eyes.

"..Shinichi?"

* * *

><p>Shizuka could feel an eye twitch. Really, she should have expected something like this already.<p>

After her introduction in class earlier today, at first there was silence, but when she finally sat down on her seat (which was in front of Kaito's), the class was suddenly abuzz once again. It was only when their homeroom teacher (who seemed to have finally recovered at Kaito's prank) hushed them into silence that the students actually shut up. But after a few minutes, there was a bit of chatter once again. And when lunch came, all the words held in during the first few periods now came bursting forth, unfortunately, most being directed at her.

The bell signalling the beginning of break had barely rung when the entire male population of the class threw themselves in front of her desk, determined to ask her questions ranging from her interests to her vital statistics. She tried to answer each harmless question as polite as possible, and kept ignoring the more suggestive ones, but she could already feel her smile slipping. Seriously, they had been at this for twenty minutes already! Didn't these people get tired? And had the boys in her class always been like this before?

She turned to Heiji and Kaito and saw that they were having the same problem as her, only they had it easier because the female population split into two to question the two of them. She sighed and was about to return her attention to the guys still in front of her desk when something caught her eye. Apparently, not everybody from the whole class was fussing over them like this. To be more specific, there was one guy who seemed preoccupied with something in his seat while there was a girl standing by the doorway.

By the time Shizuka realized who the girl was, it was already too late to undo the brief eye contact they made. She hastily looked away, but felt her heart pound in nervousness when she heard footsteps walking towards her.

'_No. It's not her, right? Right,_' she thought, trying to assure herself. But that proved to be ineffective since she heard a familiar female voice reprimand the boys at her desk, with a punch at a nearby wall, even. "Seriously, leave the poor girl alone. Can't you see you're scaring her?" the female, who turned out to be none other than her childhood friend, Mouri Ran, said.

The boys, probably scared of both the punch (which made a dent on the wall) and Ran herself, immediately backed away and promptly disappeared in front of them. Though Shizuka was already used to Ran's skills' effect on people, she still pretended to be surprised since this was technically supposed to be their first meeting.

"T-thank you.." she said, hoping to sound relieved and embarrassed, as she turned to face the other girl.

"No problem!" Ran replied. "It was about time they stopped bothering you, after all."

"Ah. Yeah.."

"By the way, I'm Mouri Ran. You can just call me Ran." She smiled and held out a hand which Shizuka took, though a bit tentatively. She replied, "Hi, Ran..san. You can call me Shizuka as well."

"Shizuka-chan, want to eat lunch with us?"

"Us?"

Ran nodded and motioned her head to someone behind her. When Shizuka looked, she was expecting to see Sonoko, but instead she saw the boy from earlier who was preoccupied with something in his seat. He nodded at her and gave a shy wave.

When she returned her attention to the girl in front of her, Ran said, "Normally, I'd be with my best friend Sonoko, but she seems to be quite busy with our new magician classmate." She sighed and shrugged.

Shizuka turned to look again and true enough, Sonoko seemed to be trying to get Kaito's attention by smiling cheerily and batting her eyelashes even. She fought the sudden urge to gag at how the rest of the girls were actually doing the same thing, even the ones who were trying to catch Heiji's attention.

"So.." came Ran's voice that broke her out of her thoughts. "Want to eat with us?"

Shizuka thought for a moment. Honestly, she knew it was inevitable that she interact with Ran at school, but she didn't expect it to be so soon! She still had to further internalize her identity as Shizuka so she wouldn't mess up and thus expose her identity, especially to her childhood friend. But now she was being asked to join for lunch the one person she didn't want to "meet" yet. Things never really went the way she would want them to, huh? So she just mentally sighed and accepted the situation. Hey, at least she wouldn't be totally alone with Ran (though she was still wondering who this unfamiliar boy was).

Long story short, she said yes.

* * *

><p>It was a nice day out. The sun wasn't too hot and there was a light breeze. Still, they decided to sit at one of the few benches that stood near the steel fences surrounding the rooftop (with Ran sitting in between the two) so they wouldn't be in direct sunlight.<p>

It turned out that all three of them brought their own homemade lunches. Shizuka's, as well as Kaito's and Heiji's, were prepared by Chikage. Ran's was most probably prepared by herself, while the boy's..honestly, Shizuka could quite care less.

At first there was small talk that was mostly initiated by Ran. It was then that Shizuka found out that the boy, who was named Takahashi Hiroki, became friends with Ran over the spring break. They met by accident and when they found out that they actually went to the same school, they became a bit closer, meeting up quite a few times. Shizuka felt that this sounded a bit suspicious, but held back from asking questions; it would be rude after all if someone they were supposed to have just met would suddenly go asking about their personal lives.

In the middle of eating, Hiroki stood up and said he was going to buy them some drinks. Both girls nodded but deep inside, Shizuka was starting to feel anxious that something was going to happen.

Now that only the two of them were left, she felt an awkward silence between them. For some reason, she also felt that Ran was going to ask her something, and she was hoping that that something would have nothing to do with suspicion about her identity.

"Shizuka-chan," Ran started, making her take a deep breath as she prepared herself for how their next conversation would go. Ran seemed to hesitate for a moment before continuing, "How long have you known Hattori-kun?"

'_..that's it?_' Shizuka was tempted to ask out loud. The question was quite unexpected, so she thought she would be able to somehow relax now. "For almost a month," she replied, keeping in mind her made-up background story. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just curious. How did you two get to know each other?"

She was still puzzled as to where this conversation could possibly be going, but answered nonetheless. "My parents are friends with Kaito's and I've been staying with them for some time. I got to know Heiji through him since they're friends."

A short pause, and then, "Did you get to know another friend of theirs?"

Realization finally dawned on Shizuka. '_She must mean me, or at least 'Shinichi_'. At this, she couldn't help but feel guilty that she would be lying to her childhood friend once again. "I.." she started, hesitating a bit. "I'm sorry, Ran-san. It's just the two of them that I met." She added as an afterthought, "Why, did you have someone in mind?"

Ran immediately shook her head and replied, though sounding a bit defensive, "N-no! Nobody. I was just..curious."

However, Shizuka felt that the girl before her wanted to say much more so she just kept quiet and waited. A few moments later, true enough, she did speak up again.

"Wait. I'm sorry, I lied. I really had someone in mind. Kudou Shinichi, do you know him?" When Ran said the name, she looked into Shizuka's eyes.

At that moment, the detective saw, for the first time, the raw emotions in her childhood friend's eyes. There was loneliness and doubt, but she could also see that there was a bit of hope, and it pained her so much that she just might be crushing that hope with her next words.

"I..I know he's a famous high school detective, but I haven't met him personally," she replied in the most normal voice she could muster.

"..oh," came the disappointed reply. But after a short while, she laughed, which greatly surprised Shizuka. As if to answer her, Ran explained, "I'm sorry. It's just that..I was thinking how utterly stupid I am. I mean, when I first saw you a while ago, I actually thought _you_ were Shinichi." She didn't notice Shizuka flinch at this and just continued, "But I know that's not possible since you're a girl. People don't just suddenly change genders, do they? So now I feel silly that the thought even crossed my mind." Ran gave another short laugh but the other noticed that it sounded a little forced.

Shizuka swallowed all the words she wanted to say in reply, until the only ones that were left were, "Was Kudou-san..an important person to you?"

Ran's eyes were downcast and there was a melancholic smile on her lips when she said, "Yes.. He's a very important person to me.. He's my childhood friend and he's.." Her voice was barely above a whisper now. "..the first person I've ever loved."

The breeze that was gentle earlier now felt cold as it blew around them, and Shizuka couldn't help but notice how the wind gently blew Ran's hair away from her face. Normally, she would have been captivated at how pretty the sight looked, but at present, things weren't exactly normal.

The first time she heard Ran talk about her feelings for 'Shinichi', she was Conan. He felt embarrassed then because he didn't expect Ran would talk about her feelings to 'a little kid' like him. But it was because of that event that he vowed to return to normal so he could tell her his feelings. Unfortunately, even when he regained his old body, he still never told her. Come to think of it, why didn't he? Wasn't it only logical for him to have confessed so that they _finally_ could have been together? Wasn't this what he had wanted?

But no matter, the chance appeared and he let it slip. And to make matters worse, he was now a she. Surely there was no way she could confess now, the way things are.

She simply stared at Ran, thinking of what would be a proper reply. However, she was caught off-guard when the downcast eyes looked at her and for a moment..was that _joy_ that she saw?

As if to confirm her thoughts, Ran spoke up, this time in a more steady voice, "But that's all in the past. My best friend Sonoko has been telling me to give him up but for some reason, I just couldn't. However, now.." She trailed off and looked at the door that led them to the rooftop. Shizuka followed her gaze and seemed puzzled for a moment, until it finally clicked.

"Do you mean..Takahashi-kun?" she asked, trying to keep the disbelief out of her voice. To her not-much-of-a-surprise, Ran blushed and shyly nodded.

At that moment, Shizuka wanted to ask so many things.

'_Why did you suddenly follow Sonoko's advice?_'

'_Why _him_?_'

'_Why couldn't you wait a bit longer?_'

But she knew these were all selfish thoughts, especially the last one. Most probably, it wasn't that she _couldn't_, perhaps it was that she simply didn't want to wait anymore. After all, how long had she been waiting for Shinichi?

When Shizuka was still Conan, he could feel Ran's hopes rising whenever he would call her using the bow tie voice-changer. That hope would rise even more whenever he drank a temporary antidote that would return him to his old body for a short while. And when he got his body back for good, he could see the joy practically radiating from her whenever they would see each other.

Yet he still made no move.

'_Do I regret doing nothing?_' Shizuka thought. '_Especially now that because of that, Ran's given up on me and found someone else already?_'

A part of her said yes, that she regretted it. If only she hadn't hesitated, both of them would be happy now.

But a part of her also did not regret it. Even if they did end up together, who would be able to say that things would still be the same between them after her sudden gender change? Surely she wouldn't be able to tell Ran the truth. And Shizuka really wouldn't want their relationship to be full of lies (mostly on her part) since that would just make Ran unhappy; and she didn't want her childhood friend to be unhappy, especially if she was the cause.

So maybe it was a good thing that she made no move before. At least things seemed to have worked out for the better, well, for Ran, who wouldn't have to get hurt anymore.

Shizuka didn't realize that her companion had actually been talking to her until Ran waved a hand in her face.

"Oh. S-sorry. What was that?" she asked, confused and a little embarrassed that she wasn't paying attention.

Ran pouted yet looked worried for a moment as she pointed out, "You were spacing out. Is something wrong?"

Shizuka shook her head and replied reassuringly, "No. I'm fine. I was just thinking. Now what was that you said?"

"Oh. Ok. Well, I was just wondering. Do you think..it was bad of me to have..moved on like that?" Ran asked, a bit hesitant, and hastily added, "But it's not like Shinichi and I were actually together in the first place! Hiro-kun and I aren't as well; we're just getting to know more about each other for now.." She trailed off.

Shizuka was at a loss on what to say. She couldn't find the right words without sounding like she was very affected by this whole thing. So she just asked, "Does..Takahashi-kun..make you happy?"

Ran blushed and looked away before nodding shyly, to which Shizuka said, "Then that's all that matters."

"..do you really think so?"

"Yes."

"But Shinichi.."

"Just tell him. I'm sure he'll understand."

"Alright." Ran looked at Shizuka once again and gave her an embarrassed but grateful smile. "I'm sorry, Shizuka-chan. I suddenly told you all these weird things. But.." She moved closer and took the other girl's hands in hers. "Thank you. It was nice to talk to someone about this."

It took Shizuka everything she had to return that smile and say in a steady voice, "Thank you too, for..trusting me enough to share it with me."

At that moment, as if on cue, Hiroki returned carrying three cans of juice. Seeing how the two girls were now sitting close together and Ran holding Shizuka's hands, he asked, "..did I miss something?"

Ran let go but remained sitting close to the other girl. She said in a now cheerful-tone, "Nothing much. Girl talk."

"Oh," was all he replied as he resumed his seat on Ran's other side and handed the two their juice which they accepted with a "Thanks".

"What took you so long?" Ran asked in a mock-irritated tone as she opened her can and took a sip.

"Sorry," he replied and scratched his head sheepishly. "Before I could buy drinks, I saw a freshman carrying a huge pile of books. I thought he might need help so I did."

Ran continued to be mock-irritated but Shizuka could see that deep down, she felt happy and proud of him. And so she stayed silent, watching the exchange between the two with a small smile on her lips, even though deep inside, she wanted to do the exact opposite.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day passed by quickly with the three new students still being the center of the class's attention, thought the students were now less zealous compared to the beginning of lunch, to the trio's relief.<p>

Throughout the day, Kaito did no pranks, vowing to make up for it in the following days. It was only the first day of school after all. In the meantime, he undid the damage done to everyone's hair before their last class ended. '_To lull them into a false sense of security for now,_' he thought as he grinned to himself, now thinking of a large-scale prank that would never be forgotten.

He, along with Shizuka and Heiji, were about to head out of the school gates when a voice called out to their 'female' companion. "Shizuka-chan!"

All three turned to see Ran trying to catch up to them. Behind her were who he knew to be her best friend Sonoko and one boy from their class that he wasn't familiar with.

Kaito then did a double-take upon realizing what just happened. '_Wait. Shizuka_-chan?' he thought, equal parts confused and shocked. Did something happen between these two?

However, Shizuka seemed unaffected by this and just gave a small smile as she replied, "Hey, Ran-san. What is it?"

By then, the four of them had stopped in place to wait for Ran's companions to reach them. When all of them were together, introductions were made for the sake of those who didn't know each other. As usual, Kaito felt the need to show his magic skills again by offering yellow roses to both Ran and Sonoko. Both girls accepted the offered flowers with a "Thanks", the former looking somehow flattered and the latter giggling a bit too much. He then noticed that the other guy, Hiroki, looked a bit tense. But when he sensed that he was being observed, he quickly changed his expression to a more relaxed one. The thief raised an eyebrow at this but did not comment on it.

Ran then said what she had been planning to say. "I just wanted to ask if you wanted to walk home together?"

Unfortunately, Shizuka shook her head and replied, "Sorry, Ran-san. I still have work with Kaito."

"Oh. Really? Where do you work and what do you do?" she asked, sounding genuinely interested.

"Um. Waitress at the cafe in the mall."

"Ooh. There's only one cafe there, right? I think I've been there before. Can we come visit you there some time?"

"Uh. Sure?"

"Alright! Next time then. By the way.."

To Kaito's, and perhaps the others' as well, surprise, Ran suddenly hugged the other girl and said, "Thank you again for earlier. That meant so much to me." When she released Shizuka, she gave a bright smile and proceeded to drag her two companions away, all the while saying goodbye to the remaining three.

When they were out of sight, Kaito and Heiji looked at Shizuka, waiting for some answers and clarifications. However, she just sighed and said, "I don't really want to talk about it yet."

At the dejected expression on her face, Kaito had enough sense to just drop the topic for the meantime, thinking that he'll just bring it up when she felt like it. Glancing at Heiji, he saw that the Kansai detective seemed to be thinking the same thing.

And so they continued walking, this time in silence.

Since Heiji's apartment was on the way to the mall, he walked with them and only separated and said goodbye when they reached it. After that, the silence remained until they reached the mall and eventually, their work place.

* * *

><p>It was a wonder to Kaito how Shizuka seemed to have been able to forget (even momentarily) what it was that was bothering her as she just concentrated on her work. It was like she was an entirely different person during their shift that afternoon - she would smile more often and for once, she didn't seem that bothered that her job was something her male pride usually wouldn't be able to swallow. However, he could feel that whatever it was she was trying to keep inside must be something very big. '<em>For her to actually want to hide it <em>so _bad,_' he thought worriedly.

Their co-workers, as well as usual customers, must have noticed the change too. But unlike him, they didn't think deeper on it; in fact, they just went along with the now-cheery mood of the girl.

Their shift was supposed to end in the early evening but Shizuka volunteered to work overtime. Kaito, not wanting to leave her, volunteered as well. And so they were both assigned to close the shop later.

The night was growing deeper and one by one, the other shops inside the mall started closing. The two teens did the same for the cafe. Both worked silently, minding their own tasks. The thief would steal a glance at his companion from time to time, feeling uneasy that something might happen to her while he wasn't looking.

Once they were done, all that was needed was to change out of their uniforms. They were at the employees' locker area then, the two of them on opposite sides of the room with their backs turned to each other.

Kaito simply stood there, listening to any kind of movement from his companion. When he heard none, he turned to look at her, and saw that Shizuka was merely standing as well, her head bowed and a hand on her open locker door. He slowly made his way towards her until he was right behind her and asked, "Shizuka, are you alright?"

At the mention of her name, she flinched, as if she was lost in her own world and was only brought back because of that one word. She turned to face him but didn't look at him directly as she said, "S-sorry. What did you say?"

Kaito frowned, but repeated anyway, this time the worry more evident in his voice, "Are you alright?"

"Of course!" came the immediate reply. "Why wouldn't I be?"

His frown deepened at the cheerfulness in her voice that sounded too fake. '_What, she can't trust me enough to tell me what's bothering her?_' he thought, feeling a little hurt.

But then he realized that he was pretty much the same. There was actually a time when he used his Poker Face too much that he didn't know how to show what he really felt anymore. And that he didn't even _know_ how to feel anything anymore, aside from being cheerful and annoying as Kaito and being mysterious and tricky as KID. It was most probably why he couldn't develop deep friendships with people easily. Sure he easily got along with all kinds of people, but the relationships he would have with them would barely even scratch the surface; he'd never had relationships with others who would actually bother getting to know the real him - the one that had been lurking beneath his Poker Face for so long. But that was until..

He shook his head clear of his current thoughts. '_This is not about __me. This is about Shizuka who probably has enough worries of her own, and I don't need to add to that._'

Seeing that she was still smiling like nothing was wrong and still looking at anything but him, Kaito _tsk_ed in mild annoyance and held her chin, gently but firmly, tilting it upwards so their eyes finally met. He asked again, this time trying to keep his voice from rising, "Are you _really_ alright? And please tell me the truth this time." His last note was that of a pleading tone.

To his surprise, her eyes had done the talking. He saw the hurt, regret, confusion, and hopelessness in those usually calm and confident blue orbs. What surprised him even more was when the girl before him buried her face in his shoulder as she finally released all her emotions.

Despite being caught off-guard by Shizuka's sudden action which now made him aware of how wet his shoulder felt, Kaito was more concerned over what could have happened to actually make her break down like this. If he remembered correctly, the first and last time she cried like this was when she found out that she'd been turned to a girl. And that was mostly because of shock and confusion.

But this..these current tears were from raw emotions that must have been held inside for so long for them to affect her like this. And like the previous instance, he was baffled as to what he could do to ease her pain, or at least help her calm down.

So he did the first thing that popped into his mind, which was to put an arm around her waist to pull her close and his other hand on her head in a gentle manner. He knew that such an action from him would normally result in a beating and/or an earful from the boy-turned-girl, but the current circumstances weren't exactly what you'd call normal. And actually, he figured that even if he would get punished later, he wouldn't really mind.

They stayed like that for a while, Shizuka crying silently and Kaito holding her close, waiting for her trembling to subside. When it did, she pulled away slightly, wiping her tears with the back of her hands. He let her move away, but his hand still lingered on her waist.

There was silence once again, this time, Kaito choosing to wait for her to speak herself, instead of pressing her for answers like earlier. After all, he wouldn't want a repeat of what happened just now. Though it was a bit endearing to see her cry as she let her emotions out, which showed that despite everything she was still only human after all, he was much more concerned for her as a whole. Also, he couldn't help but feel a little ache in his chest as he saw her looking so..so broken and vulnerable.

It seemed that gathering her thoughts took quite some time. Kaito didn't know what time it was now, but no matter, he was willing to wait. And when she was finally done, the first words that came from Shizuka's lips were, "I'm sorry.." Her voice was still trembling a little. Her head was still down but this time, her hands were now on her sides.

The thief tentatively released his hold on her waist and was about to reply when the girl before him finally raised her head and looked at him as she said his name, this time in a more steady voice. Her eyes were still a bit puffy and he could see that tear tracks remained, but what surprised him was the serious look she was giving him. There was a hint of hesitation, but she still looked determined.

He was about to open his mouth to ask why the sudden change, but then decided against it and just let her continue. Taking this as a cue, she did, though the hesitation resurfaced.

"Kaito," she repeated and paused for a moment. She looked away and bit her lip, but eventually took a deep breath. He merely waited patiently and once those blue orbs refocused on him, he steeled himself for what she would probably say next.

"Kaito..will you be Shinichi for me for one last time?"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>Once again, sorry if anyone's bothered by the long chapter. The words just kept on coming and I didn't know how to delete parts yet still make everything connected and make sense. O.O

I also just wanted to finally finish Ran's part in this. In the original version of this story, I killed her off. I then thought that that wouldn't be too..nice so I changed things up a bit. And thus I had to have another OC. Gah.

Err. I shall stop now before I ramble some more. Hehe. Just, as I always say, please do review! They would mean so much to me. Even if it's just to point out any mistakes or whatever. :)

Thank you very much for those who are still reading this! :D


	11. Running Out of Luck

**Author's Notes: **I'm very sorry it took so long again! So many things just happened. I'm really sorry! *bows very low* I hope this chapter somehow makes up for the long wait. ;_;

Thank you again for the new alerts and favorites! And of course, thank you very much to **Kaida-14Kage**, **DayDreaming0f y0u**, **WolvesAngelz**, **Alaena F. Dragonstar**, and **Epicfan** for reviewing the previous chapter! :)

_Epicfan: Aww. Thank you! I'm glad you like this fic of mine. And here's the next chapter! I'm sorry it took me long. I had a bad case of writer's block. ;_; Hope you enjoy it though! And thank you for your review! :)_

Warnings: Female Shinichi, _shounen ai_, AU I think, and OOC-ness.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan in any way.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eleven: Running Out of Luck<strong>

It was the first Saturday since their classes started. It had only been a couple of days but with everything that happened, Shizuka couldn't help but feel that much longer time had already passed.

She was sitting on the bed in her new room at her new place. It would be almost a month since her agreement with Tomoe-san, the landlady of the apartment. She still lacked a bit of money for the advanced payment but thankfully (and surprisingly), Kaito helped her out. She didn't bother asking him about his reasons though and just felt grateful. And so she was able to move in that very morning, with Kaito and Heiji assisting her with her things. Once everything was in place, contrary to her initial thought that they would stick around, they bid their goodbyes as if they knew that she wanted to be by herself for a while. Once again, no questions were asked, which both relieved and puzzled her.

Wanting to relax a bit, she lied down for a moment, an arm across her closed eyes. She recalled the conversation that just couldn't stay out of her mind, and would probably stay there for quite some time.

* * *

><p><em>Flashback<em>

_"Hey, Ran." Friendly. Eager._

_"..S-Shinichi?" Surprise. Disbelief._

_"Who else could it be?" Smugness._

_"I just thought.. What's going on? Where are you really?" Worry._

_"I'm working on a really important case. I'm sorry."_

_"Is it more important than your education then? Or how about us, your friends?"_

_"It's.. It's not like that, Ran." Hesitation._

_A sigh. Relenting. "It's alright. That's just the way you are, right?"_

_Silence. And then, "How have you been? How's everybody?"_

_"We're all fine. A couple of your friends are now students at our school: Hattori-kun and Kuroba-kun. Kuroba-kun looks awfully a lot like you."_

_"Yes, we've been told."_

_"And then there's another new student who also looks a lot like you, only it's a girl this time."_

_"I look like a girl now?" Teasing._

_"No! She just.. I don't know. You have similar facial features, I guess."_

_"Then she looks like Kuroba too? Does that mean we'll look like triplets if seen together?"_

_Laughter. Relaxing. "Maybe. Yeah, you would look like triplets indeed."_

_"How about you? Anything new with you?"_

_Hesitation. "I.. Nothing much, actually."_

_"Really?" Pressing, but not too much._

_A pause. And then, "Well, I'm..seeing someone."_

_"..oh."_

_"..you're..not mad?"_

_"Should I be? What's his name?"_

_"You're not going to hunt him down or anything, are you?" _

_"Of course not! I just want to know who I'll need to teach a lesson if I see you hurt."_

_Silence._

_"..Ran? I'm sorry, did I say something bad?" Worry._

_"No, I just.." Sniffling. "I'm glad..that you're actually concerned about me."_

_"Of course I am!" Indignance._

_"Takahashi Hiroki."_

_"What?"_

_"His name. Takahashi Hiroki."_

_"Ah, alright. I'll keep that in mind. So what kind of guy is he?"_

_"..now you're interested in him?" Teasing._

_"..."_

_Laughter. "Just kidding! Geez. You can joke around but I can't anymore?"_

_"Haha. That was very funny." Sarcasm, but with a bit of affection._

_"Fine. Anyway, well, he's really nice and fun to be with. He doesn't attract dead bodies or crime scenes though."_

_"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"_

_"I'm not exactly sure. A bit of both, I guess? Though leaning a bit more towards good."_

_"Ah."_

_A short lull in the conversation, as if waiting for each other to say something next. Then, "..does he..make you happy?"_

_A pause. "You know, you're the second person to ever ask me that."_

_"Really? So what's the answer?"_

_"..yes."_

_"Ah. That's good."_

_Another short lull in the conversation, this time with a feeling of awkwardness._

_"Well, that's all for now, I guess. It was nice talking to you again, Ran."_

_"Same here. You will call again, won't you, Shinichi? And drop by from time to time?"_

_"Sure. I'll try."_

_"Alright. Take care!"_

_"You too." A pause and short hesitation. "..Ran?"_

_"Hmm?"_

_"I'm.. I'm really happy for you two." Sincerity, but still with a bit of regret. "I really hope he gives you strength and the joy* you deserve."_

_"I.. Thank you, Shinichi." More sniffling._

_"So.. Bye."_

_"..bye."_

_Click._

_End Flashback_

* * *

><p>She actually wanted to tell Ran these things in person, but she couldn't do that while still looking like Shizuka. Ai was still nowhere near making even a temporary antidote so she wanted to try the next best thing for a face-to-(almost)-face talk, which was to make Kaito disguise as Shinichi. She admitted that it sounded a bit stupid, but it was the only thought that occurred to her during her very emotional state that day that she found out. But it was a good thing that Kaito confirmed how stupid the idea was so she easily got over it, even if he did say a few not-so-nice words just to convince her.<p>

Hence she ended up with the next thing on the list which was a phone call. To her, it wasn't as ideal as a real talk between two people, but it would do, and Kaito agreed. It was a good thing that she still had her bow tie voice-changer then. At least she still had something to use while Agasa-hakase was 'updating' her gadgets and making them fit her new self more.

She replayed the conversation again in her mind. For some reason, she felt a sense of..release..once that phone call ended. At least she didn't have to worry anymore whether or not Ran would still be waiting for her because now the answer was clearly no. Still, it surprised Shizuka that knowing that the first person she ever liked now had someone else didn't hurt as much as when she first found out. There was still regret, yes, but it was more on because she had kept her childhood friend waiting for too long that Ran didn't get to have the happiness she deserved sooner, even if it was with someone else.

'_Huh. Never thought such things would cross..my..mind.._' was the last thing on her mind before her thoughts slowly slipped away and her body relaxed, as she finally succumbed to sleep.

* * *

><p>She was having one of her usual dreamless sleeps, when somewhere (which she thought was the back of her mind), a door slammed open and two voices shouted together loud enough to wake the dead, "<em>SHIZUKA!<em>"

Needless to say, the called person woke with a start and quickly sat up in bed. The sudden motion made her feel a bit dizzy so she put a hand on her head to steady herself. When she felt a bit better, she looked pointedly at the two people who had just barged into her room and asked, "What on _earth_ is going on? And just _how_ did you get in here?"

The intruders, namely her friends Kaito and Heiji, merely sighed in relief as they stood by the doorway. This puzzled her but the irritation was still there, so she asked again, though this time in a less hostile manner, "What's going on? And how did you guys get in?"

Thankfully, someone finally answered her. "Tomoe-han lent us the keys 'cause we asked fer it," Heiji said.

"Why? To wake me up from my nap?" She still sounded a bit irritated but she didn't care. It was one thing to be woken up like that so suddenly, but it was another thing when people suddenly invaded her place like that, even if they were her friends. Honestly, you'd think someone was dying or something!

"Sorry about that," Kaito said and scratched his head sheepishly. "We've been texting and calling you but you weren't answering so we thought something had happened." (She noticed that concern was slowly seeping into the thief's voice as he said the last part.)

Checking her phone which was on the bedside table, Shizuka saw that she indeed received messaged and calls while she was asleep - seven messages and thirteen missed calls, to be exact. The numbers surprised her; how long had she been asleep anyway? A glance at the time told her that she had actually been out for almost four hours. She even managed to sleep through lunch. Was she that exhausted by everything that was happening to her?

She turned to her two friends who were still standing by the door, looking like they were waiting for her to speak up. So she did. "Well, I was asleep. Sorry."

"S'alright. We're just glad yer fine," Heiji said with a smile to which Kaito nodded in agreement.

Shizuka looked at the two, feeling both touched and a bit baffled over their concern for her. Yes, she was heartbroken (having to give her blessings to the new couple didn't help either), but that didn't mean that she was going to do something drastic like hurt herself over it. The worst that could happen was that she'd keep herself locked inside her new place for days on end and brood about it.

Oh wait, maybe _that_ was why they were worried about her.

"So, want ta come with us?" Heiji asked after some time.

Realizing she had spaced out again and that she was completely clueless as to what they were talking about, she mentally hit herself for not paying attention. She really had to stop being too lost in her own thoughts that she ended up tuning out everything around her; she wasn't like this before, was she? "Sorry. Where are we going again?"

Again, she didn't receive a reply, but the two boys before her merely exchanged looks and grinned. Almost instantly, she had a feeling that she wouldn't be that amused, where ever it was that they were going to.

* * *

><p>'<em>Damn it.<em> _This was _not _part of The Plan,_' Kaito thought and grit his teeth.

So far, everything had been going well. As the afternoon neared its end to make way for the darkness of the night, he was fairly certain that today's mission was accomplished. He was no detective, but he was sure that Shizuka enjoyed herself today. If the fact that she kept on talking animatedly during their trip home about the event they had just gone to wasn't an indication, he didn't know what was. And so he felt quite proud and happy that The Plan had [almost] worked.

See, ever since he and Heiji learned of what happened at the rooftop a couple of days ago, they had looked out for their friend more. They had noticed the little changes in her that showed she was likely slowly leading to depression, and they didn't want that. Since she wasn't telling them anything, they took it upon their selves to help her out.

Thus The Plan.

It wasn't anything special, really. They would just think of places to go to or things to do that would help, at least, steer Shizuka away from depression, and at most, totally cheer her up. Of course, they weren't sure how effective each part of The Plan would be and how long the effect would last, but Kaito knew that both of them would be willing to think up new and better ideas, especially if the previous one(s) failed.

And so he became excited that The Plan just might succeed, especially when "Part One: Game" turned out well.

Initially, he suggested that he go on another heist, just like last time. But Heiji disagreed, saying that going on heists would be much more dangerous from now on, especially after finding out that someone was targeting KID. Kaito frowned at the memory and immediately agreed with that point. After all, why go on a heist just to possibly cheer someone up if it would be accompanied by the risk of people getting hurt? So yeah, one option down.

The next suggestion came from Heiji. Being a fan of sports, he said why not watch a game of Shizuka's favorite sport, soccer? Kaito thought this was a good idea, so they spent their free time finding out if there would be a game some time this week. Turns out there was one, and on a weekend even. Luck seemed to be on their side.

They got the tickets that morning after helping Shizuka move her things to her new apartment. (Kaito refused to think about the finality of Shizuka leaving his home. For now, he'd just think that at least he could still see her at school and at work.) They planned on pretending to ask her to go some place with them, like the park, but all thoughts of pretending flew out the window when she didn't reply to their messages nor answer their calls.

Normally known for their impulsiveness, both of them tried hard to restrain themselves from heading straight to the apartment and busting down the door just to be certain that she didn't do something stupid. Well, they still somehow ended up doing that, though they made sure that she really wasn't picking up or replying first. (It really was a good thing Heiji was friends with the landlady.)

So after finding out that she was actually just sleeping, they were able to release the worry they had been holding in, and finally decided to push through with The Plan.

After they passed that small bump on the road, everything else proceeded smoothly. Well, almost.

Upon realizing that she had been taken to watch a game of soccer, Shizuka's eyes literally lit up once she saw the field before her, and this Kaito noticed. At first he and Heiji were a bit skeptic since it wasn't exactly a major match and both teams were hardly known (as far as both of them were concerned; they didn't follow the sport much after all), but it looked like they didn't have to worry about that after all.

When that was done and they were on their way home, Shizuka just couldn't stop talking about the game with such enthusiasm in her voice. She would comment on a certain player's or team's tactics and attempt to break it down and formulate moves to counter it. All the while Kaito would just nod and grin at her, feeling quite accomplished for the day.

And that was when they hit another bump on the road, though this time it was much _much_ worse.

The three of them were still euphoric over the day's events (for different reasons) so more or less, their guards were down. Unfortunately, whoever was following them took advantage of this little fact.

They had gotten off the train and were making idle chatter while walking when the atmosphere changed. Kaito knew that he should have already thought something was up when they started walking through empty streets that would usually be inhabited even by a few people here and there, but he just shrugged it off at that time. He figured that since his companions didn't seem to find anything out of the ordinary, he must have just been overthinking.

And so they continued, not knowing that danger was just around the corner, quite _literally_.

They had just passed a seemingly-innocent alley when a _whoosh_ cut through the air, followed but Heiji's cry of pain and his knees bucking. Shizuka, who had been walking alongside him, was immediately by the fallen detective's side. Meanwhile, Kaito looked behind them and upon hearing a pair of footsteps running from the alley they just passed, moved to pursue the attacker. But he was stopped when Shizuka held his shirt, as if holding him back.

A moment of silent communication passed between them, with Kaito wanting to ask, '_Are you serious? You want the culprit to just get away like that?_' But the expression on Shizuka's face seemed to say, '_I don't like this situation any more than you do. But whoever that was was armed and you're not. So instead of running off and trying to get yourself killed, help me out with Heiji because he needs our attention more._' Yeah, he also found it kind of scary how the detective was able to convey all of that to him without uttering a single word, but he obeyed anyway.

He finally turned his attention and saw the damage done to Heiji: a crossbow shot to the back of his left thigh. The wound looked shallow and didn't seem to be very life-threatening, but it still must hurt like hell, judging from his expression.

So after a blur of makeshift bandages, blood, phone calls, flashing lights, and medics, Kaito and Shizuka were now seated in a cab following the ambulance carrying Heiji to the hospital.

* * *

><p>Yes, he thought that having a crime that needed solving suddenly pop up would be a bonus to their day, but not..like <em>this<em>. In fact, he had been hoping nothing like this would happen again. God knows how this would affect Shizuka. After everything that had been happening to her so far, surely she deserved even a short break from stressful events, right?

"Damn it." This time, the words really came out of Kaito's mouth, but his companion didn't seem to notice. He looked at Shizuka and the concentrated expression she had, and he wondered what could be running through her mind right now. He was somewhat sure that the thing that crossed his mind had already crossed hers, but he was still hoping that that wasn't the case. After all, she really didn't need to have another worry added to what seemed to be her already growing list. But then again, they couldn't just ignore the situation at hand, could they?

At this, he couldn't help but heave a sigh. For someone who was supposed to be blessed with extreme luck, he sure didn't feel like so these past few weeks. Perhaps it had something to do with hanging out with two people who were magnets for trouble. Oh wait, he was a magnet for trouble too, wasn't he? Hah. His luck must have cancelled out already because he now attracted three times the trouble.

Speaking of luck, he really wished Heiji had it at this very moment. Because if not, well, Kaito didn't really want to think about that, especially since he was a close friend.

He didn't notice that his hand on his knee must have shown how restless he currently was until he felt another hand on his. He knew it could only be one person but he looked anyway, as if to make sure, and saw that it was indeed Shizuka. She was looking straight ahead and her jaw was set, as if she was still concentrating on something. She said nothing but gave his hand a gentle squeeze which, oddly enough, calmed him down a bit. He couldn't help but feel that this seemed somehow familiar to him, though he couldn't quite place when it happened (if it really did). The corner of his lips turned upwards into a small smile that he knew she would see from her peripheral vision, then turned to look outside the window of the cab they were currently riding, this time with a look of determination on his face.

Now he knew how Shizuka and Heiji felt when _he _was the one who got injured, twice already now, in fact, if that time that they found out about his identity as KID counted.

Kaito glanced at his companion again and saw the still-neutral look on her face, but he knew that beneath that expression was someone who was really worried. Two of her friends had been getting themselves injured after all, and though they all pretty much had an idea on who was behind this, he knew she would still blame herself for it.

He returned his gaze to the window, this time only one thought in his head, '_You better be alright by the time we get there, Hattori._'

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>*Apparently, Hiroki means abundant joy and strength, or at least that's what I read. And yes, I purposefully searched for a meaningful name just so I could include that here. XD

Once again, I'm really sorry it took so long! Writer's block is evil. And I haven't fully recovered from it yet. T A T But I swear I'm already working on the next chapter! I'll try to finish it as soon as I can!

I hope you guys liked this chapter, even though it wasn't much. Reviews are greatly appreciated. And thank you to those who are still reading this! :)


	12. Celebration

**Author's Notes: **The last time I updated this was..four months ago? Oh God. I'm so sorry. T A T As I said on my profile, I had a really bad case of writer's block. Knowing the major events I want to happen but not how to get there is really frustrating. Add to that starting school so yeah, I've been a bit busy as well. Akhgfdsfgsd. But now I'm on a short summer break so I was actually able to write more! Anyway, I hope that you guys will enjoy this chapter. :)

And just another reminder that, yes, this will be KaiShin. So don't worry. ;)

Once again, thanks for the new alerts and favorites! And of course, thank you very much to **Kazami**, **DayDreaming0f y0u**, **Epicfan**/**takodivy**, **Kaida-14Kage**, and the **Guest** for reviewing the previous chapter!

_Kazami: I'm glad you thought so. Hehe. :)_

_Epicfan_/_takodivy: Don't worry, I don't mind the consecutive reviews like that. In fact, I was very happy about it. Haha. XD Anyway, as I said to someone, all things shall be revealed in due time. Hoho. XD And thank you for the review and for your words! ^^_

_Guest: Thank you for the review! Though I'm afraid I didn't quite understand what you meant? I'm sorry. I'm slow.. ._. (I have a feeling though. You wouldn't happen to be Epicfan/takodivy as well, would you?)_

Warnings: Female Shinichi, _shounen ai_, and OOC-ness.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan in any way.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twelve: Celebration<strong>

"Oh. Uhh. Thanks," Heiji said with a polite smile, at which the girl before him just blushed and stuttered, as if she wanted to say something else. Whatever it was that she wanted to say, she never got to though and she just shuffled out the room.

It had been a few weeks since he, along with Shizuka and Kaito, watched that soccer game one weekend. Enjoyment they did get, but it seemed that life had much more in store for him, namely, a crossbow wound to the thigh. It wasn't that serious though; he got a few stitches and was told that full recovery would be after two weeks, which was now.

What was unusual to him, however, was the weeks in-between. When he turned up on Monday in crutches, he got offers to help him with random stuff throughout the day.

But it didn't stop there. The following day at lunch, many girls (including the ones from other classes) suddenly came up to him and gave him lunch boxes as "get well soon" presents. Baffled at the sudden attention he was getting, he just accepted them anyway, also because he didn't want to hurt their feelings.

And so he ended up with sixteen lunch boxes that day, not including the one that Kaito's mom made.

Speaking of the thief, he jokingly suggested that Heiji make a business out of selling the lunch boxes to guys who had crushes on the girls who made them, at which he said no. Meanwhile, Shizuka offered the use of her refrigerator just in case his ran out of space. They all had a good laugh at that. (Though he _did_ end up taking her offer.)

As the days passed, the number of "presents" dwindled until he received nothing anymore, which was totally fine with him.

So he was surprised when now that he was fully-recovered (so no need for any "get well soon" presents), another girl came up to him. She was from a different class but for some reason, he felt that he had seen her somewhere before. She offered him a - guess what - lunch box. Unsure of what to do, he accepted it anyway with what he thought was a polite smile, so he had no idea why she suddenly left like she was in a hurry, without even getting out what she wanted to say.

"I'd say she seems pretty serious about you, Hattori," Kaito teased, as if reading his thoughts. Heiji turned to face him with a pointed look, but the thief continued in a still-teasing tone, "Shall I tell Mom not to make lunch for you anymore?"

"Oh, shut up," was all Heiji managed to reply, and he couldn't help but mentally facepalm himself for coming up with such a _witty_ comeback.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a short "Heh" from their other companion. He, as well as Kaito, looked at Shizuka with mildly surprised expressions. To this, she asked, "What?"

'_Nothin'. Jus' that ya' finally seem a bit more normal now, compared ta the past few weeks_,' Heiji was tempted to say, but managed to hold his tongue.

Ever since that crossbow incident, Shizuka once again slowly withdrew herself from them. Even when they would hang out together, it was as if she wasn't really with them. She didn't react to their conversations like she usually would. Heck, even Kaito's pranks could not get a rise out of her! Aside from offering her refrigerator space that one time, she didn't interact with them much anymore.

However, what was worse was that after school, she would directly go to work. When that was done, she would go straight to the apartment. On her days off, she would stay in her room and only go out when she needed food. It was as if she was set on automatic with a schedule that she had to keep at all times.

Needless to say, this did not bode well for The Plan. He and Kaito already asked Chikage for help regarding Shizuka, but even she failed.

He knew it was because she was blaming herself for what happened to him, as well as what happened to Kaito before, and he really disliked that. Why did she always think that everything bad that would happen to her and the people around her was her fault?

Well, ok, you could say it was kinda because she attracted so much trouble. '_But the moment I decided ta become a detective, I already knew what kind of dangers I'd start gettin' into. Hangin' out with ya' an' Kuroba don't really help either. But I still stick with ya', don't I?_' he thought.

With that, Heiji heaved a sigh. He wasn't sure if she already knew these thoughts of his. If she did, it was most likely that she didn't care or that she remained her stubborn self who believed that everything bad was because of her. If she didn't know, well, he didn't think it would make much difference, especially since it would be difficult to make her change whatever was on her mind.

"What?" Shizuka repeated after some time, looking back and forth between the two boys as she waited for a response.

"Nothin'," Heiji said and shrugged. He then turned away and gave a sad smile which, unknown to him, did not go unnoticed, thus prompting and exchange of uncertain glances.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day flew by, to Heiji's liking. He just wanted to go back to the apartment and sleep until it was the weekend again, if that was even possible. For some reason, he wanted to get away from everything stressful and just rest, properly, that is. No crime scenes, no heists, no (possible) Black Organization henchmen shooting him and his friends. Nothing. Just his self, his room, and peace and quiet.<p>

But of course that wouldn't be happening. At all.

He was just about to head outside the school gate after saying goodbye to his friends when Shizuka asked a question that made him stop in his tracks.

"Heiji, are you free later this evening?"

Wait. _What? _Did she really just..?

He turned around to face the speaker, just to be sure that his ears weren't playing tricks on him. And true enough, he saw Shizuka looking straight at him, as if waiting for his response.

Almost immediately, Heiji felt his face heat up. '_The hell? What on earth am I gettin' embarrassed fer?_' he thought, confused at why his body was being weird all of a sudden. It wasn't as if she was asking out like _that_, right? Surely the question was raised just for the sake of asking, and not because she wanted to spend some time with him tonight. After all, they were just platonic friends, in a totally non-weird way, right?

Heiji shook his head, attempting to get rid of his weird thoughts with the action. But still, he was uncertain on how to reply. Glancing at Kaito who was right behind Shizuka, he was dismayed to see that the Poker Face was on, which totally did not help. So he just sighed and opted for the truth, "Sure, I guess. What's up?"

He was caught off-guard when he got a smile in return, as well as a cheerful, "Okay. I'll see you later, alright?"

She was just about to head off before Heiji's tongue decided to finally become useful and asked the questions he wanted to be answered. "Wait. What's goin' on? Are we goin' some place? Where?"

This time, he got a mysterious smile and a short, "You'll see."

With that, Shizuka and Kaito finally went ahead (most probably to go to work) without another word, leaving behind a thoroughly confused Kansai detective.

* * *

><p>This was the fourth outfit he had tried on since getting back to his apartment which, finally, got his seal of approval. Truth be told, Heiji wasn't sure if he needed to dress up, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Still, he didn't want to seem overexcited about the whole thing so he just opted for a plaid button-down shirt, presentable jeans that didn't have any rips or holes, and a pair of clean sneakers.<p>

Not formal yet not too casual. At least he hoped so.

He looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror for the nth time that night and couldn't help but make a disgusted face. What the hell was wrong with him? Why was he so excited for tonight? '_Like I'm lovesick or somethin'!_' he thought, finally leaving the bathroom to go and lie down on his bed.

As he lay there, staring at the ceiling, he felt warmth creep up his cheeks again. And like before, he shook his head, wanting to stop the weird thoughts before they even surfaced and then go out of control. He was at a complete loss as to why his body, or more specifically his face, kept betraying him the entire day. He hadn't always been like this, had he? Then what changed?

Just as one name popped into his head, he heard a knock on his door. He sat up and for a few moments, just stared at the door which was visible from where he was, before he finally decided to stand up and open it. As he was walking, he unconsciously straightened his shirt and tried to check if his hair looked okay. When he realized what he was doing, he dropped his hands and made another face. '_Dude, this needs ta stop_,' he said to himself.

He finally opened the door to reveal the person he had been waiting for. All of a sudden, he felt a bit self-conscious of his outfit though, because Shizuka was wearing a plain shirt and jeans. Thankfully, she didn't comment on his choice of clothing for what would likely be a very casual and entirely friendly night out.

"Ready?" was all she asked, to which he simply nodded. "Let's go," she continued and stepped away from outside the door, waiting for Heiji to lock and close it before they left.

When he was done, he turned to face her and asked, "So.. Where're we goin'?"

Once again, he just got that mysterious smile and short, "You'll see."

* * *

><p>They had been walking for the past half hour without any specific destination in mind, at least to Heiji. He didn't mind though. He might not have had the relaxing sleep that he initially wanted, but he did get a relaxing walk that still managed to get his mind off things, even for a short while.<p>

Surprisingly, the walk was spent in comfortable silence, with the occasional small talk here and there. Heiji honestly expected that there would be some level of awkwardness between them, especially after the way Shizuka had been acting recently, but he was glad that he had been wrong.

They were to reach the one-hour mark of simply walking around when all of a sudden, Shizuka stopped and turned to face him. Heiji was about to ask what was wrong, when she threw out another question that caught him off-guard.

"Hey, Heiji, can you close your eyes for a minute?"

For the third time in just a span of few hours, Heiji felt that his face was making a very good impression of a very ripe tomato. He could feel all the blood rush to his face that he wouldn't be surprised at all if he happened to pop a vein or something similar.

She continued to stare at him, her eyes almost unblinking as she waited for him to reply or to do as she asked. For a moment, Heiji looked away first, trying to compose himself. When he deemed himself okay, he faced her and finally did as he was told. He pursed his lips and began leaning a bit forward, his face still feeling quite hot. This continued until..

..he felt a hand latch around his wrist which then proceeded to drag him away.

His eyes almost flew open at the surprise, if it weren't for Shizuka saying, "No, keep your eyes closed." So he obeyed, again, and asked, "Where're we goin'?"

Even though he voiced that question, Heiji had a feeling that he would only get that mysterious smile as a reply, which wouldn't really help, even if his eyes were open to actually see it.

Heaving a sigh, he just resigned himself to whatever was in store for him.

* * *

><p>It didn't take long - not more than five minutes, in fact - before they stopped and Shizuka declared, "We're here!"<p>

Heiji had no idea where on earth they were but his eyes remained shut anyway, just in case his companion wanted them to stay that way for the meantime. True enough, she didn't say anything and just tugged at his wrist which she still held onto, leading him towards wherever 'here' was.

Judging from what he could make of the noises and everything around him that he could sense, they had just entered a gated area, most probably a home. This was further proven when he was warned that they would be taking a couple of steps of stairs which he assumed led to the entrance of the house itself. He heard her open a door and once they were through it, she closed it behind him.

"Just wait for a while, alright?" Shizuka said and finally let go of his wrist, now walking away, judging from her foot steps that were slowly becoming fainter.

Brows furrowed in concentration, Heiji tried his best not to open his eyes just to be done with all the mystery. It didn't help at all when he felt that his surroundings were very familiar, only of course he couldn't be too sure, at least not until he really saw where he was. And so he simply crossed his arms as he waited for his companion to come back, which actually didn't take very long.

A few moments later, he heard steps again, though this time there was more than one. He knew that one of them was Shizuka though, because she said, "Okay, are you ready now, Heiji?"

"Ready? Fer what exactly?" he asked.

"You can open your eyes now."

He did as he was told.

Since he had his eyes closed for quite some time, it took him a while to get them adjusted to his lit surroundings. Before the initial blurriness came to pass though, he heard popping noises that surprised him. However, once his vision cleared, the sight before him surprised him further.

There stood Shizuka, Kaito, and Chikage, each with just-used party-poppers in their hands and smiles on their faces with grew as they chorused, "Happy Birthday!"

Momentarily stunned, it was only when Shizuka ushered him to the dining room that he was able to move his body after what seemed like a long time of being rooted to the same spot. But once there, he practically gaped at what was in front of him: different kinds of food on the table, balloons on the ceiling, a banner with "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HEIJI!" in large letters, and most importantly, the cake in the middle of the table with colorful candles lit on top. '_All that's needed's a clown, seein' as we already have a magician here,_' he thought with a grin.

Turning to the people who prepared all of these for him, Heiji felt a rush of gratitude. He tried thinking of enough words to express just how thankful he was, but all that came out was, "Ya' sure went all-out, huh?"

"No," Kaito corrected. "All-out would mean having loud music, drinks, fireworks, and maybe some elephants, pandas, and tigers.._inside_ the house." He said the last part with a grin, at which the two females in the room just smiled at him. But Heiji knew that those smiles meant something along the lines of '_Don't you _dare _even try or else something bad might just happen to you_'. The thief seemed to have gotten the message as well, but he simply shrugged and brushed the warning off.

Shizuka then turned to Heiji and this time, the smile was much more sincere. "Well then, shall we begin?"

For the moment, everything was normal.

* * *

><p>They all ate, chatted, and cleared away the decorations and food. The three volunteered to clean the rest of the mess while they let Heiji have some privacy outside as he listened to a recorded greeting from his parents that they got for him.<p>

As he sat on the steps outside the Kuroba household, listening to his dad's gruff yet somewhat-embarrassed voice ("Is this really necessary?" he asked with a sigh in the recording.) and his mom's calm and pleasant tone ("Hush. Of course it is! Don't you miss your son?" she asked.), he couldn't help but crack a smile. Of course his dad would seem so against doing such a 'sentimental' thing. But with just a few words from his mom, the man could be persuaded to do just about anything (which, to him, made her much scarier, along with the fact that she also had amazing kendo skills).

Their message was short, but it was enough to bring another smile to Heiji's face. '_I should probably go back an' visit once in a while,_' he thought.

He was just about to replay the recording when he heard the door behind him open. Turning around, he saw that it was Shizuka, who asked, "Ah, am I interrupting something?"

"Nah, it's fine. I jus' finished listenin' to my parents' message anyway," he replied.

Seeing that she was about to sit next to him, he scooted over to give her more space. But once she sat down and he realized their closeness (the steps weren't exactly meant for seating two people after all), he couldn't help but sit still and look straight ahead, simply turning his head a few times to look at his companion when she spoke.

"So.. Did you enjoy yourself tonight?" she asked.

"Y-yeah.." came the nervous reply. Heiji wanted to hit himself. '_The heck am I gettin' nervous fer?_'

"That's good."

"Uhh. Who came up with this anyway?" he asked, trying to maintain normal conversation between the two of them.

"One time, Kaito and I brought up the whole lunchbox thing at school and then Auntie suddenly asked when your birthday was. Once we realized that it was just days away, things just, well, they seemed to just fall into place. Hence this."

"Oh. So everyone pitched in? That's..nice."

He probably would be even more touched if it was only Shizuka who planned the whole thing though.

'_Wait. WHAT?_'

He must have had a horrified look on his face (because of his weird thoughts) or something similar because beside him, a worried voice asked, "Heiji, are you alright?"

In response, the Kansai detective said, "Y-yeah. Don't worry 'bout it." He gave an uneasy smile and for some reason, his mouth just didn't _stop_. "I was thinkin' though, since ya' mentioned the lunchbox thing, who do ya' think that girl from earlier was? She seemed kinda familiar, but I still dunno. An' she was the only one who gave me a lunchbox today even though the others already stopped some time ago. Do ya' think she did it 'cause she knew it was my birthday? Seems unlikely though, right?"

The urge to hit himself resurfaced, but Heiji still tried to look at his companion, even if it was just to see how she reacted to his babbling.

A shocked look. Well, that was understandable. But now, he could see the corners of her lips slowly turning up into a smile, which then erupted into laughter.

'_Uhh. Okay..? It's better than a look of horror, I guess,_' he thought, trying to be positive.

"Sorry about that," Shizuka said once she stopped laughing, but she was still grinning. Somewhat. "I just.. Where did _that_ come from?"

"Believe me, I have no idea," he sighed.

For just a moment, their eyes met, but it was enough to send them into fits of laughter. Honestly though, Heiji didn't know just _why_ he was laughing, but hey, if it was reducing the awkwardness he felt, then why the heck not?

Once that subsided, he could feel that a stupid smile was stuck on his face and though he couldn't see Shizuka's face, he could feel that she was the same.

They spent a few minutes in comfortable silence until Heiji decided to break it. "Hey, Shizuka," he said.

"Hmm?"

"Thanks.."

"For today? No problem!"

"No, not just that.." He faced his friend beside him, now ignoring how his legs are bumping into hers, and prepared to speak. "I.. Thanks..fer everythin'.."

Shizuka, for her part, looked confused, but replied anyway, "As I said, no problem. I mean, we're friends after all, aren't we?"

"That's the thing. I don't-"

For a moment, Heiji hesitated before continuing.

'_Should I?_'

'_Will it be worth the risk?_'

'_..._'

'_..I'm sorry._'

Jaw set in determination, Heiji held her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. To him, time began to move oh-so-slowly and his pounding heart could not get any louder. Until finally, the words left his mouth.

"I like you, Shizuka."

With that, he slowly closed the distance between their lips.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>Um. So. I just want to reiterate, this will be KaiShin. So yeah. Please don't hate me for this chapter or anything! I just felt that Heiji needed some love, especially since this was supposed to be dedicated to his birthday (which is WAAAY past, I know, sorry ;_;).

What else. Hmm. I've already started on the next chapter. Hopefully I can get another one out before break ends. That's one of my goals this summer break actually. :D

As I always say, reviews are greatly appreciated. And thank you very much to those who are still reading this! :)


	13. Blast from the Past

**Author's Notes: **I'm sorry it took so long for the next update! TT A TT I've been really busy with school, as well as another bad case of writer's block. So yeah, not a very good combination. I'm still busy with school, but I'll try to squeeze in some writing time every now and then so I don't take too long, again. However, even if I do take a really long time to update, I will never abandon this story, or any story I'll be writing in the future, for that matter. Just wanted to throw that out there. :)

So.. The response from the last chapter really surprised me. O_O In a good way though. Haha. I hope you guys will like this chapter too. I finally got around to moving the plot a little forward. XD

Thank you for the new alerts and favorites! And thank you very much to **AyameRose**, **SaraMatta**, **Eevee1118**, **MinaSuzuki**, **Guest**, **ChibiConan-kun**, **CJSakura**, **Mage of Hope**, **Mokuren no Ken**, **Shara Raizel**, **Clare**, **uuuuuupdatepwese**, **Okuri Soji**, **Nima**, and **Meow-chan** for reviewing! :) That's the most reviewers I've had for a chapter. :O Anyway, thank you very much to you lovely people! :)

_Guest: Don't worry. Heiji will be fine. :)_

_Clare: First of all, thank you for your review. :) Next, I'm sad that you stopped reading this, but thank you for reading it anyway, though I would be glad if you picked it up again. :D As for the things you mentioned, I see your point. However, I've written everything so far for a reason. For example, the HeiShin vibe that you mentioned shall be resolved in this chapter. Regarding the sudden crying, as you said, most of the population would probably feel horrible at being turned into the opposite gender. But that's my point. Shinichi already turned into a kid and got turned back after _several _years. Now he gets turned into something else, his opposite gender nonetheless, and a little part of him's scared that it'll take the same long time for him to turn back, or even worse, never. Add to that everything his body's going through because of the sudden gender change, such as hormones and stuff. I could go on and on, but I shall stop right here for now. It would be interesting if we could discuss this more through PM though (assuming that you're still reading this). But yeah, thank you again for your review. :)_

_uuuuuupdatepwese: Issues regarding..?_

_Okuri Soji: Awww. Thank you very much! :) Here's your update! I hope you keep enjoying my story. Once again, thank you! :)_

_Nima: Temporarily stopped, but I kept on writing whenever I could. Here you go._

_Meow-chan: ..you shall see with this chapter. Hehe._

Warnings: Female Shinichi, _shounen ai_, and perhaps OOC-ness.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan in any way.

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><p><strong>Chapter Thirteen: Blast from the Past<strong>

Jaw set in determination, Heiji held Shizuka by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. To him, time began to move oh-so-slowly and his pounding heart could not get any louder. Until finally, the words left his mouth.

"I like you, Shizuka."

With that, he slowly closed the distance between their lips..

..only, he couldn't bring himself to _really_ do it, so he ended up kissing her cheek instead.

Once the deed was done, the two remained looking at each other for a few moments before Heiji felt his face heat up and he finally looked away. His hands that held her shoulders firmly earlier now grew slack until they completely released her. A million thoughts were rushing into his head, the first and foremost being _why the heck_ he did something as stupid as confessing to one of his close friends, who happened to be originally a guy!

He was about to apologize, walk off, say it was only a joke, _anything_, but before he could do any of these options..

"Heiji, I.. I'm sorry.."

For a moment, he was at a loss for words. Not a moment later, he heard himself laughing, earning him a confused look from his companion.

"Sorry 'bout that, fer the sudden laughin' and the..thing..I said earlier, I mean," Heiji said sheepishly and scratched his head. However, it might have seemed like he was now trying to brush the whole thing off so Shizuka's stare didn't diminish in the least. Sighing, he cleared his throat and tried to gather his thoughts.

"Shizuka, I.." Pause. "Yer not lettin' me outta here until I explain myself, huh?"

"Pretty much," she replied. This time, she was the one who looked away with a slight tint to her cheeks. "I just want to know why, okay? Why..me..?" she trailed off.

At this, Heiji just blinked. Did she really not know what people saw in her? '_Never mind. I forgot, this is the detective who's as dense as a brick when it comes ta attention directed at her_,' he thought and sighed, which, unfortunately for him, Shizuka noticed. And so he just gave her a small smile before he finally began his tale.

"Ya' see, Shizuka.." Another pause, this time accompanied by a deep breath and another scratching, this time of his cheek. "Don't kill me or anythin', but initially, it was 'cause ya' have the same name as my mom.."

With that, he waited for his words to sink in and elicit a reaction from the girl before him. After mere seconds, he got what he pretty much expected, which was basically:

"**WHAT?!**" Accompanied by a flabbergasted look.

Before she could add anything to that though, Heiji raised his hands in a defensive manner and attempted to calm his friend down. "Like I said, don't kill me or anythin'!"

When he saw that she did seem a bit more relaxed, or at least not extremely shocked/scarred, he proceeded to further explain himself. "So yeah, at first it was 'cause ya' have the same name as my mom. I'm not sure if Kuroba did that on purpose though.

"But 'cause of that, that first night that ya' dressed up as a girl, I just.. I dunno. S'like I had the sudden urge to watch out fer ya' even more.." he trailed off and upon realizing what he said, he added hastily, "Of course, I looked out fer ya' even before then, 'cause yer a friend, y'know?" He then gave a sheepish smile which was then returned with a still-confused look, so he just sighed for the nth time and continued. "Err, yeah.. After that, with ya' becomin' a girl an' all, I guess the whole 'lookin' out fer ya' just stuck 'til I didn't even notice that I was slowly likin' ya' already.."

This time, the Kansai detective decided to stop before he embarrassed himself further. Why was it so hard to talk about feelings anyway? Trying to hide his blushing face, he first sneaked a glance at his companion, only to find out that between the two of them, he wasn't the only one with a red face.

They both stayed silent for a while, with Heiji mainly waiting for Shizuka to react to all that he said. After a few minutes, he got his wish.

"Heiji.." she started off sounding a bit uncertain. "Thank you..and I really mean it. I've never had anyone say such things to me.." The tint to her cheeks resurfaced as she remained looking away. However, once she gathered herself and took a deep breath, she continued, this time looking at Heiji in the eyes, "But what I said earlier still remains. I can't accept your feelings. I'm sorry.."

To Heiji's surprise, hearing those same two words that meant he was being rejected didn't affect him as much as awhile ago. Yes, he still found it unfortunate that his feelings weren't reciprocated, but at least he was given a clear answer. Perhaps explaining how he ended up liking her helped a bit and now he felt free; he wasn't hiding anything from her anymore.

"S'ok," he replied with a genuine smile. "I pretty much figured that'd be the case anyway."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean ya' and-" Realizing where his train of thought was taking him, he suddenly stopped and tried to brush off what he was about to say, unfortunately failing. "Um, never mind," was all he managed in the end.

As he expected, she gave him a sharp look and proceeded to get him to continue what he was about to say. Good thing he was thinking a bit more clearly now, so no room for saying things that he would later regret.

Still, it was nice. For a moment, it was as if everything was back to normal between them: kidding around, laughing together, annoying each other. It was as if he hadn't just crossed a line in their relationship. They still were, and it would most probably stay that way for a long time, friends.

'_An' that's how it's supposed ta be,_' he thought.

After some time, he was nudged on the shoulder and someone called out, "Heiji?"

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><p>"Hattori-kun?"<p>

Somewhere, someone was saying his name, but he wasn't sure who exactly it was.

'_Shizuka..?_' the back of his mind wondered. But then the back of his mind also reminded him that that was not how she normally referred to him. So who..?

Slowly blinking open both eyes ('_When did I even close them?_' he thought.), he caught the image of something brightly-colored fluttering near his face.

'_A..ribbon?_'

Once his mind was able to register that it was not Shizuka who was in front of him, he suddenly sat up straight and tried to comprehend what was going on, which was basically a somewhat-familiar girl with said ribbon in her hair sitting across from him.

That was also when he realized that he was currently sitting under one of the many trees in their school garden. When did _that_ happen?

Blinking his eyes again, though this time it was more because of confusion, he tried to say something, but the girl beat him to it.

"Ah, I'm sorry," she said, blushing a bit and scooting away from the Kansai detective. "I didn't mean to surprise you or anything. I just wanted to know if you're alright."

"Uh. Yeah, I'm alright. Did I doze off, or somethin'?"

"Pretty much."

"Do ya' know how long I was out?"

"I'm not sure. I was just walking by and then I saw you. I thought you might have suddenly passed out," she said, concern clearly evident in her voice.

At this, Heiji couldn't help but feel both embarrassed and touched that a complete stranger (And she happened to be a cute girl too!) was concerned about him.

..or maybe not a total stranger after all.

"Hang on. Aren't ya' that girl who gave me a _bento_ on my birthday?"

If the girl was already blushing, she turned a bit redder at the question. At the same time though, she looked delighted. "You remembered?"

"Yeah. That..wasn't 'cause it _was _my birthday though, right?"

He was met with silence, so he continued.

"Ya' _knew_ it was my birthday?" he asked, his eyebrows shooting upwards in disbelief.

"Um. Yes?" she replied, looking at anywhere but the boy before her.

Heiji let that little piece of information process first before he attempted to come up with an acceptable answer, which ended up being:

"..oh."

With that, awkward silence reigned between the two of them, neither knowing how to continue from that point.

After some time though, Heiji began again, this time sounding apologetic, "Sorry 'bout that. I just..I didn't know what ta really say, I guess."

"It's okay.." the girl replied quietly.

This made the Kansai detective feel bad because she now seemed a little withdrawn, unlike earlier. Still, he wanted to satisfy his curiosity so he asked the question that had been nagging at him. "So..how did'ja know?"

To his surprise, instead of hesitantly answering, she took on a more confident tone, even looking at him in the eyes. "I just do. I also know other things, such as you wanting to be a great detective in your father's eyes, which I think you are now slowly being able to fulfill. I also know that your mother is sweet and nice, but there are times when you were afraid of her because she's excellent at _kendo_, which drove you to also learn the sport. I could say many other things about you, Hattori-kun, though I admit I'm not that updated anymore."

The more that she said, the bigger Heiji's eyes widened in disbelief. Because really, what could he reply to _that_?

'_What're ya' talkin' 'bout?!_'

'_Stalker!_'

'_Are ya' from the Black Organization?!_'

None of these responses seemed fitting enough, especially when he took into account how serious the girl appeared while she spoke. So instead he asked, "What do ya' mean 'not updated'?"

This time, the girl looked sad as she shook her head. "You don't remember, do you.."

Once again, Heiji felt bad. He was about to apologize again but suddenly stopped when the girl's action seemed to stir something in his memory.

All of a sudden, his mind was flooded with memories of a young girl he grew up with when he was still a child. This girl gave him a good luck charm and she also happened to have her hair up in a ponytail tied with a yellow ribbon (sometimes orange or other bright colors) that would flutter when there was a slight breeze or whenever she moved her head. The same girl who moved away when they were far too young, leaving only memories that were eventually forgotten, but now resurfaced.

At the realization, he turned to the girl who was currently in front of him. He must have had a completely shocked look on his face, but even so, the girl didn't seem to mind. In fact, her face was slowly lighting up, as if she knew that he was slowly recognizing her.

"Yer.. Yer.." Heiji racked his brain. What the heck was her name?! He could finally remember the face, but not knowing the name was much more frustrating, especially when it was already at the tip of his tongue.

As if sensing that he was having a hard time, the girl gladly helped out. Perhaps knowing that he now remembered her was enough, for she was smiling and her eyes were shining as she nodded and stated her name.

"Kazuha. Toyama Kazuha."

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><p>"Wishing you were there, in her place?"<p>

Shizuka turned with a start at the sound of the voice. Seeing the thief's teasing grin, she simply turned her back on him and started walking down the corridor. But of course, he followed her.

She had been looking at the scene unfolding in the garden outside the school building, namely Heiji and a girl from another class, from one of the windows overlooking the area. What started out as an awkward conversation soon turned into a more relaxed and familiar one. At least that was how it looked like to Shizuka. She couldn't hear a word the two were saying, but she knew enough from their body language how the atmosphere between them suddenly changed.

"Did something happen between you and Hattori?" Kaito's voice broke into her thoughts again.

"No," she replied a little too quickly, which she regretted. But if Kaito noticed, he didn't give any indication. "Hmm.." was all he replied, but this did not make her feel any better, especially since knowing him, he had many things in mind that he just wouldn't say.

They remained walking in silence, Kaito a few steps behind Shizuka, until they finally reached their classroom door. Before entering though, Shizuka stopped, which then prompted Kaito to stop as well.

"Kaito?"

"Yeah?"

She thought for a moment about what she wanted to say, but then decided against it. After all, whoever Heiji wanted to befriend was his own business, and the same goes for whoever he wanted to like.

Suddenly remembering his confession, to _her _nonetheless, Shizuka couldn't help but blush. _That _was totally unexpected. But what's done is done. She honestly felt bad about turning him down, but at least she was honest and didn't leave him hanging or hoping. She was pretty sure he was at least grateful for that.

'_And now he actually seems to be moving on. A bit faster than I expected, but at least he's moving on,_' she thought, a small smile on her lips. From what she saw between the two earlier, she could tell that there wasn't anything serious, _yet_, but if that ever did happen, Shizuka was hoping that the girl would be able to give Heiji the happiness she knew her friend deserved; the happiness that she knew she wouldn't be able to give him.

At the thought, Shizuka felt her smile slowly slip. She could never really give anyone happiness, huh? First it was Ran, but she kept letting her childhood friend down. At least now Ran had someone whom she deserved. Next was Heiji. She turned him down, but there was now someone who seemed capable of giving him what she couldn't.

And then there's Kaito.

Turning to look at the thief, she found him staring at her, his brows knit together in confusion and concentration, as if he was trying to figure out what was going through her mind.

For a fleeting moment, she thought about everything that the two of them had been through. She wondered if, despite how crazy their relationship seemed, would they still work out?

The thought passed just as soon as it came. Shizuka shook her head vigorously, trying to rid herself of that horrifying thought.

'_Why did I even think..me and him!?_' she thought, incredulous.

Unknown to her though, her action surprised and worried her companion.

"Shizuka, what's-" Unfortunately, Kaito didn't get to finish his question. Neither was he able to put his hand on her shoulder as he intended, because Shizuka already backed away, a hand over her mouth in surprise at where her thoughts were going.

Kaito reached for her again, but she flinched, causing the thief's hand to hover in midair for a moment before he finally pulled back.

Somewhat surprised by this, Shizuka looked up at her friend's face, only to see his Poker Face completely in place. Smiling, he said, "I understand if you can't tell me. Just.." He paused and for a moment, the mask cracked a little, allowing Shizuka to see the genuine concern reflected in those normally mischievous purple orbs. He continued, "I'll be here, alright?"

And with those few words, he turned and walked in the direction the two of them just came from. However, his steps might have grown fainter the further he walked away, but the loud thumping of Shizuka's heart in her ears did not diminish in the least.

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><p>The rest of the day was spent in awkwardness. Shizuka still couldn't bring herself to talk again to Kaito after what went through her mind earlier. It didn't make her feel any better that he clearly showed his concern for her, yet here she was, avoiding him like his concern was completely unwanted.<p>

For what seemed like the hundredth time that day, she sighed.

..which didn't really go unnoticed.

Dismissal came and Shizuka was glad that she didn't have work, hence more time to think things over in the peaceful confines of her apartment. But wishes for peaceful moments never really did come true for her.

"Shizuka-chan?" came the voice that stopped her initial plan of just bolting out the classroom door so she wouldn't be held back by anyone. Well, not exactly, but you get the point.

Facing the speaker, she was not-at-all surprised to see none other than her childhood friend Ran looking at her. "Yes, Ran-san?" she replied.

"I.. I just wanted to talk," came the shy reply. This manner of speaking from the other person was new for Shizuka; Ran was usually more cheerful and bright. For her to be like this, something must have happened.

"Talk about what?"

"I don't think this is the right place.."

Looking around, Shizuka saw that, true enough, their classroom didn't really seem to be the most appropriate place for what would seem to be a serious and private conversation. In addition, the students might be leaving one by one, but all their close friends were still there and currently watching the two of them. Unnerved by the stares, she sighed and agreed with the suggestion of talking some place else.

And so they found themselves in the bedroom-slash-living-room of her apartment.

Once refreshments were served and offered, the two teens sat across each other in silence, holding a cup of drinks in their hands. Shizuka was still quite distracted from everything that happened. But this, her childhood friend sitting right in front of her and wanting a serious talk, still managed to make her a little worried. Did something happen to Ran?

Contrary to Shizuka's thoughts, Ran finally spoke up, "Shizuka-chan, are you alright?"

Shizuka blinked. That..was totally not what she expected. She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it after realizing that she didn't really know what exactly to reply.

Seeing this, Ran said, "It's alright. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. I just want you to know that if you have any problems, I'll be right here to listen." She added with a smile and a slight blush, "Plus, I kind of owe you for that time on the roof.."

This time, it was Shizuka who smiled. Ran was such a sweet girl. However, the boy-turned-girl wasn't sure if it was appropriate to tell her about what was bothering her. Also, if ever, where was she to begin?

After a few moments of deliberation, she took a deep breath and gave her answer.

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><p>In the end, Shizuka didn't say anything and pretended that everything was alright. She felt bad that she was once again lying to her childhood friend (though this time it was regarding a different thing) but really, she would rather sort her thoughts on her own, especially when it came to affairs like these that simply..baffled her. Plus, she didn't really want to burden Ran with all of her confused thoughts.<p>

And so she tried to ignore the hurt look that passed Ran's face, which was soon replaced with a happier one as the conversation turned into more of an idle chatter. Shizuka could feel the awkwardness hanging in the air though, and she was also sure that the idle talk did nothing to ease both their minds.

After some time, Ran deemed it time for her to go home. However, she had just stepped out of the other girl's door when she suddenly stopped and gave the other a meaningful look. Shizuka wanted to ask her what was wrong, but she was pretty sure she had an idea on what that look could have meant: Ran felt bad that she wasn't trusted enough. Shizuka wanted to explain herself but didn't know how. And before she could get any words out, Ran bid goodbye and left.

Overall, Shizuka felt like the most horrible person in the world.

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><p>Heiji felt like an awful person. Well, he actually wasn't sure if he should, but he still felt like it.<p>

It had been a few days since his birthday. That was one of the most memorable days of his life. Despite not being able to spend it with his family, he got to spend it with some close friends, and that was a great thing in itself.

That being said, that night was memorable for one more thing: it marked the day that he confessed to Shizuka and got turned down. He had no regrets though, or any ill feeling towards his friend. He was just glad that he didn't have to hide anything from her anymore, and that nothing seemed to have changed between the two of them.

..at least, that's what _he _thought.

As far as he remembered, the rest of that evening was fine. They were talking and joking around, like usual.

So why was she suddenly avoiding him, _again_?

And not only him, but Kuroba too. He was pretty sure that the thief didn't confess to her like he did ('_Or did he?_') or did something stupid enough to make her blatantly ignore him ('_Since he always does stupid things anyway._').

'_So what gives?_' Heiji thought, thoroughly confused.

He wanted to talk to her. He really did. But what was he supposed to say? He didn't even know what the problem was!

Not knowing what to do, he almost wanted to pull his hair in exasperation.

Keyword: Almost. A hand on his shoulder made him stop in the middle of his inner monologue-slash-turmoil.

Turning around to see who it was, he was somehow surprised that it was one of the two people he was just thinking about. And what that person said surprised him even further.

"We're meeting up after class and heading over at Hakase's place," Kaito said. As if answering the unasked question hanging in the air, he continued, "Haibara has some updates on the Black Organization's activities."

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><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>So yeah, a bit of plot development which, as I said, will move further in the next chapter, which I am already working on. Hopefully, school doesn't keep me too busy.

Reviews are greatly appreciated, and so are constructive criticisms, ideas, suggestions, and whatnot. I'm open to pretty much anything, except a few things. For one, I would appreciate it if you guys don't cuss at me because I'm taking too long to update. I'm still human and I still have other important things to do. And as I said, I'll never abandon any story that I'm writing. So yeah, I hope you guys understand.

That said, thank you to everyone who's still reading this! :)


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